Fueling Apathy? Energy Dependence and European Reactions to the 2008 Georgian-Russian War
Year: 2011
Type: preprint
Abstract: Western media, observers, and policymakers have voiced anxiety about Europe’s increasing dependence on Russian natural gas. As an increasingly authoritarian Russia engaged in seemingly annual conflicts over gas prices and transit fees with Belarus and Ukraine, and former President Putin’s rhetoric grew more belligerent, concerns that the continent had become vulnerable to Russian imperial ambitions were magnified. In 2008, speculation appeared to become reality, as war broke out between Russia and its post-Soviet, but Western-leaning neighbor, Georgia. In this paper, we investigate whether the relationship between a country’s dependence on Russian natural gas influenced its politicians’ reactions to the Georgian-Russian war. Specifically, we analyze the voting behavior of representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on a resolution and recommendation relating to Russia’s behavior during and after the war. The analysis focuses on the proportion of a country’s natural gas, in particular, that comes from Russia while controlling for potentially intervening factors. As a European institution committed to safeguarding democracy and human rights, the question of how PACE members responded to an authoritarian Russia at a time when lives were lost should provide important insight into conventional claims that a reliance on Russian energy has dampened the willingness of European states to publicly oppose Russia.
Source: SSRN Electronic Journal
Authors: Bryon Moraski, Magda Giurcanu
Institution: University of Florida
Language: English
Subfield: General Energy
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1512159463