<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The article analyses the Russian neo-imperialist strategy in the gas trade in Southeast Europe (SEE) and the reactions of the EU and the region’s countries to this. The first argument in the article is that the existence of favourable political, social and economic preconditions is necessary for the application of a neo-imperialist strategy. The second argument is that an individual country’s geographical position determines Russian interest in building transit pipelines on its territory. Because the gas trade exists in the framework of the conflict-cooperation perpetuum between the interested parties, the third argument is that this provokes a reaction from the EU and the affected countries in the form of soft balancing. This approach is intended to curb Russia’s power, but not to completely break a gas trade with this country. As the EU has been making efforts to counteract Russian geo-economic power by promoting diversification of the gas supply and funding new gas infrastructure projects, Russian influence in the region has been decreasing in recent years.</p>
</abstract>

The article analyses the Russian neo-imperialist strategy in the gas trade in Southeast Europe (SEE) and the reactions of the EU and the region’s countries to this. The first argument in the article is that the existence of favourable political, social and economic preconditions is necessary for the application of a neo-imperialist strategy. The second argument is that an individual country’s geographical position determines Russian interest in building transit pipelines on its territory. Because the gas trade exists in the framework of the conflict-cooperation perpetuum between the interested parties, the third argument is that this provokes a reaction from the EU and the affected countries in the form of soft balancing. This approach is intended to curb Russia’s power, but not to completely break a gas trade with this country. As the EU has been making efforts to counteract Russian geo-economic power by promoting diversification of the gas supply and funding new gas infrastructure projects, Russian influence in the region has been decreasing in recent years.

The Russo-European Gas Trade and the Position of Southeast Europe between the Great Actors: Neo-imperialism, Conflict–Cooperation Perpetuum, and Soft Balancing

Politics in Central Europe

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The article analyses the Russian neo-imperialist strategy in the gas trade in Southeast Europe (SEE) and the reactions of the EU and the region’s countries to...

The Russo-European Gas Trade and the Position of Southeast Europe between the Great Actors: Neo-imperialism, Conflict–Cooperation Perpetuum, and Soft Balancing

Published Online: Dec 18, 2023

Page range: 667 - 694

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2023-0031

Keywords
neo-imperialist strategy, conflict-cooperation perpetuum, soft balancing, Southeast Europe, Russia, European Union

© 2023 Davor Boban, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The Russo-European Gas Trade and the Position of Southeast Europe between the Great Actors: Neo-imperialism, Conflict–Cooperation Perpetuum, and Soft Balancing

Published Online: Dec 18, 2023

Page range: 667 - 694

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2023-0031

Keywordsneo-imperialist strategy, conflict-cooperation perpetuum, soft balancing, Southeast Europe, Russia, European Union

© 2023 Davor Boban, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
neo-imperialist strategy, conflict-cooperation perpetuum, soft balancing, Southeast Europe, Russia, European Union