ABSTRACT
Energy is one of the most central issues in contemporary global politics. From the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) embargo of the 1970s, which sprang from the conflicts in the Middle East and sent Western economies into prolonged decline, to numerous confrontations of the last two decades in the Caucasus, Central Asia, Africa, energy security has a great impact on great power relations. Three major approaches in the international relations literature such as realism, liberalism, and domestic politics explains why some energy projects, seemingly less economically justifiable for the proposed unified framework. The literature on economic liberalism and interdependence focuses on the economic fundamentals of trade and cooperation. This chapter provides several approaches that analyze the cases of U.S.-Russia, U.S.-Azerbaijan, and Germany-Russia economic and political ties in the area of energy security. It focuses on bigger projects such as pipelines and oil production implemented by major oil companies, rather than by smaller independents.
