ABSTRACT
The theoretical background of the foreign policy, grand strategy, foreign energy policy (FEP), and energy conflicts of Russia is contentious. Various international relations theories have arguments about the energy resources and energy power of Russia, but two streams come forward: state-centric and conflict-based neorealist theoretical framework; market-based and cooperative neoliberal theoretical framework. Russia’s energy sector and energy policy are interrelated with foreign policy ambitions to a certain extent. The central ontological status of the alternative theories on Russia’s foreign and energy policy varied from economic, security, and military power to institutional quality discourse. Russia’s active manoeuvres in the Arctic and the Mediterranean Sea demonstrate that it seeks more than regional hegemony over “near abroad”. From an analytical perspective, Russian FEP can be examined from different angles including energy power and “energy weapon”. The research elaborates on these concepts from a complex interdependence perspective that is related to foreign energy policy and energy conflicts.
