The energy dependency of post-Soviet states such as Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania has made them easy targets for Russia’s use of energy as a political weapon. While there has been much talk about such “energy imperialism,” existing research has ignored crucial domestic factors in the transit states that lie between Russia and EU markets. The presentation examines the domestic political economy of these states’ energy and transit policies, their interplay with the rent-seeking strategies of domestic and Russian oligarchic groups, and the often explosive effects of this combination on the security of European energy supplies.
A native of Argentina, Margarita M. Balmaceda (PhD, Princeton University; Post-Doc Harvard University) is Professor of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University and Research Associate at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute in the USA. Her research on energy and politics has been supported by the Fulbright Humboldt, and other foundations, as well as by a Marie Curie Fellowship from the European Union, and she has conducted several major projects based in field research in the area. Her books include Energy Dependency, Politics and Corruption in the Former Soviet Union (Routledge 2008) and two forthcoming monographs on the issue.
Moderation: Professor Dr. Alexander Wöll