Abstract
This study examines whether Russia is a threat to Estonia’s energy security as well as how Estonia has reacted to Russia as an energy supplier. The authors use Stephen Walt’s balance of threat theory as a framework to understand the potential of Russia as a threat, as well as how Estonia has reacted. The balance of threat theory is chosen because it effectively establishes when states view others as a threat and how they react. The focus of the work is on Estonia’s dependence on Russian natural gas and the great lengths Estonia has gone to be energy self-sufficient. The article concludes that Estonia can and does see Russia as a threat to its energy security and has taken significant measures to reduce its dependency on Russia as an energy supplier.
Highlights
In this article, we will investigate whether Estonia sees Russia as a threat to its energy security and if so, how Estonia has reacted to this threat
The authors used Estonia for a case study to analyze how Estonia interprets other states as a threat to its energy security, and how it has acted according to that threat
Part of this analysis is unique to Estonia, the portion on oil shale, but the findings can be useful for Latvia, Lithuania and other central European countries that depend on Russia as regards natural gas
Summary
We will investigate whether Estonia sees Russia as a threat to its energy security and if so, how Estonia has reacted to this threat The framework for this analysis will be Stephen Walt’s balance of threat theory. This work will focus on Russia’s natural gas transit policies to determine whether they are a threat to Estonia’s energy security. Laurila concludes that Russia’s willingness to pay such a high price for energy transit projects shows that Russia wants to have a direct transport link to the Western Europe, invest in the St. Petersburg region, and gain political leverage over the Baltic States (Laurila 2003: 53). If we take into account only statistics and focus on specific situations, we will be always short of a greater understanding
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