Energy as a Parameter in Politics - Coursework Example

ENERGY AS A PARAMETER IN POLITICS Introduction Politics on all levels from basic communal organization to global interactions rely on the distribution and availability of energy sources.Any nation’s economic state, security and sustainability depends on its ability to access and utilize energy sources1. This makes energy supply a basis for cooperation between nations as well as a spark for conflicts among. As far back as the 70’s there was a global mentality that there was a looming petroleum scarcity that would be permanent. This saw the United States change its energy policies and shift from a minor oil importer to a major oil importer on a global level2. However, in 2008 the notions of the impeding scarcity had a reverse effect with the producers wanting to make a large profit before the reserveswere depleted. This saw the prices rise continually. At that rate the country would be spending many billions of dollars on importation of petroleum and natural gas. This would create a distress in the economy because of the increased trade deficit. It is true that Asia is the new ground zero for growth of energy consumption.it is also true that Asia will be responsible for 85% of the energy consumption growth on the planet in the next 20 years. This has seen Russia try to form ties with the east to establish a proper market for its hydrocarbon exports3. The obvious deduction from this would be that Russia would wield more geopolitical power in the next few decades, which is not likely to be the case4. The current technological advancements have enabled rapid expansion of the shale gas industry in the US. In a decade, the industry has grown dramatically with the product now in abundant supply,seeing drastic reduction in prices. The policy debate has snow shifted to how much of the nation’s energy resource should be exported. The strengthening of the US’ geopolitical strength due to the shift in paradigms of the global energy market has greatly hindered China’s attempt to be the global leader. The best way to counter this influence would be to weaken the alliances that the US has with states in the region. The result has been the heightening of maritime tensions in the region with the East China Sea conflict providing a good illustration5. Both China and japan lay claim to a number of geographical features found in the sea. The features that comprise of a few islands and territorial waters could provide energy reserves and fishing grounds6. However, this is not the only reason behind the conflict. The key issue is that the waters are important choke points in maintaining strength in the shifting geopolitical scene. Turkey’s energy demands have surged over the years with the rate coming in second to China7. The booming economy has ensured that the nation must source almost all of its natural gas and oil from foreign sources, mostly Russia. This has seen the country become Russia’s largest trading partner as of 2008 after displacing Germany8. This partnership is furthered by the cooperation between the two to supply energy to central Europe with Turkey serving as the transit country. This is beneficial to Turkey that accrues millions in transit fees while reducing the environmentally threatening tanker traffic in the Bosporus strait. Russia has a political and economic system that is troubled and autocratic. However, it is also rich in energy resources, which it had been selling to countries like Ukraine9. This made it a geopolitical powerhouse that threatened the prosperity of European states. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union followed by the loss in power through the establishment of newer sources of energy globally, the geopolitical ego of “mother Russia” has taken some blows. The Ukrainian uprising therefore provided a perfect opportunity for the nation to flex and show its geopolitical muscle. Russia had planned to construct a Burgas-Alexandropoulos route through a 280 km route over Bulgaria and Greece. In the deal Russian companies would own 51% of the shares of the company that would transport Caspian and Russian oil to Burgas, the Bulgarian sea port before being sent to Alexandropoulos10. However, the coming into being of a new Bulgarian government backed by the EU in 2009 stalled the project after the new government demanded a better deal. This has seen Russia further ties with Turkey and improve the initial $11 billion south stream pipeline project by Gazprom and ENI by incorporating a second blue stream leg11. The pipeline that would traverse turkey’s territorial waters and come ashore in Bulgaria and supply the greater European region would double the volume from 31 to 63 billion m3. The interpretation of all these is that the standoffs between the EU, America and Russia have purposed to give Turkey greater geopolitical strength. The Crimea issue has especially contributed to this with Russia facing greater alienation and running out of options. The sanctions have meant that Russia has fewer options for supplying it energy to Europe. The reduced ability to export its energy has threatened its economy that almost crashed. With Ankara being in the best position to supply both sides of the divide, the sanctions have earned turkey millions in dollars in transit fees as well as improving ease of access to energy12. The Crimea territorial issue is a good illustration. The disputed addition of the territory to Russia does little to add value to the economic condition of the country. This shows that the aim of this move was to spite the EU and the west in general. The point gains more support from the fact that Russia threatened to close the gas pipeline to Ukraine at one point, a move that can only be described as strong-arming. The end result is the existing standoff between the EU and Russia that threatens the economic success of Europe. The effect of this standoff is that energy has come out as a parameter in the determination of political directions for Russia. However, this move seems to have backfired with the abundance of energy in terms of petroleum and natural gas driving the prices down. The reduction in oil prices led to the Russian ruble decline with the economic slump being compared to the great depression. So it is safe to say that energy plays an important role in the determination of political directions and the geopolitical power experienced by the “American Empire” is not likely to wane anytime soon. 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Available from: http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2014/NATO-Energy-security-running-on-empty/Transatlantic-energy-security-Ukraine-crisis/EN/index.htm [15 Feb. 2015]. Weitz, R 2015, Russia-Turkey Energy Ties: Cooperation with Conflict. Diplomaatia.ee. Available from: http://www.diplomaatia.ee/en/article/russia-turkey-energy-ties-cooperation-with-conflict/ [19 Feb. 2015]. ZHU, Z 2012, New dynamics in East Asian politics: security, political economy, and society. New York, NY, Continuum International Pub. Group. Read More