Geopolitics of Energy and Energy Security

This publication reproduces presentations made at a workshop hosted by the PortugueseNational Defense Institute (IDN), under the framework of the project Geo4GER– Geopolitics of Gas and the Future of Euro-Russian Relations. This project, funded by thePortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and developed by the PortugueseInstitute of International Relations of Nova University of Lisbon (IPRI-UNL)in partnership with IDN, aims to analyse the complex and multidimensional relationshipgeopolitics of Euro-Russian gas, and develop alternative scenarios possible on thehorizon of the next twenty years. Starting from the idea that there is an multidirectionalinteraction between international policy, security environment, and energy, the Geo4GERaims to: (1) identify the political, economic and geopolitical trends that in the comingdecades can commit or facilitate the increased consumption and production of gas inEurope and in Russia; (2) predict the impact of these geopolitical changes, their implicationsfor gas production and consumption in Europe and Russia, and their consequencesfor the gas market; and (3) assess how changes in the gas market could affect the futureof Euro-Russian relations.Given the complexity of the vectors to consider in the analyses of this complexissue, the editors invited specialists to treat, in a rigorous and synthetic way, some of theaspects which they believe to represent the basic points the project aims to develop.These authors, with very different origins, experiences and academic backgrounds,brought greater diversity and richness to the “ways of seeing” this reality. In a context ofrapid changes, we believe their contribution will assure greater and more informedinformation about one major challenge in the coming decades, that energy security andEuro-Russian relations will bring to European societies, namely in what refers to naturalgas.