An Avoidable Dependency? Russian Gas and German Complacency in the History of East–West Energy Relations

Abstract

How dependent were Germany and the European Union as a whole on Russian gas, and what lines can be traced in the historical development of energy relations? These questions are at the heart of the six books discussed, all of which were written in the context of Russia’s increasing aggression against Ukraine. All books examine the dependency in the energy sector, both for the exporting Soviet Union and Russia as well as for the importing countries. The essay argues that conceptualisations of dependency, underlying economic interests, and transnational interdependencies require further research.