 | Challenges of European External Energy Governance with Emerging Powers Subjects: Politics & International Relations; Environmental Politics; European Politics; International Political Economy; Security Studies - Pol & Intl Relns; International Relations; Foreign Policy; In a multipolar world with growing demand for energy, not least by Emerging Powers such as Brazil, India, China or South Africa (BICS), questions of EU external energy governance would at first hand appear to be a high-priority. Yet, reality tells a different story: the EU's geographical focus remains on adjacent countries in the European neighbourhood and on issues related to energy security. Despite being Strategic Partners and engaging in energy dialogues, it seems that the EU is lacking strategic vision and is not perceived as a major actor in energy cooperation with the BICS. Thus, political momentum for energy cooperation and joint governance of scarce resources is vanishing. Resulting from three years of international, interdisciplinary research cooperation among academics and practitioners in Europe and the BICS countries within a project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, this volume addresses one of the greatest global challenges. Specific focus lies on the bilateral energy dialogues and Strategic Partnerships between the EU and Emerging Powers regarding bilateral, inter- and transnational energy cooperation. Furthermore, the analysis provides policy recommendations in order to tap the full potential of energy cooperation between the EU and Brazil, India, China and South Africa. Michèle Knodt is Jean Monnet Professor for European Integration and Comparative Politics at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany. She works on the new role of Emerging Powers in international politics with a special focus on energy and triangular cooperation. Furthermore, her research interests include EU external democracy promotion in Central Asia and Southern Caucasus as well as Civil Society Engagement in the European Multilevel System. Nadine Piefer is a Researcher at the Department of Political Science at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany, and a freelance Consultant. Her research and consultancy work focuses on EU foreign and energy relations with the BICS, new development partners and triangular cooperation. She has research and practical experience in South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, India, China and Germany. Franziska Müller is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Kassel, Germany. Her PhD analyzed governmentality and normative power within EU-ACP relations. Her research interests include EU relations with Emerging Powers, poststructuralist and postcolonial IR theory, international aid governance, and qualitative social research. Her current work focuses on IRENA's role for a global energy transition, thereby exploring transformations of North-South relations at the energy/development nexus. |
