Andrea Prontera

The new politics of energy security and the rise of the catalytic state in southern Europe

European energy security has recently emerged as an important topic of scholarly attention. Many studies have scrutinised the political and institutional innovations triggered by the establishment of the European Union internal energy market and external energy policy. However, the literature indicates a particularly striking gap between growing research and concept development, and only recently have efforts been made to analyse this current dynamic more accurately. By focussing on the security of gas supply and liquefied natural gas development in France, Italy and Spain, and extending the model of the catalytic state to the energy-security realm, this article contributes to the empirical and conceptual debate. In particular, the article argues that the catalytic state model, which emphasises the active role of governments in a liberalised market structure and their wide participation in a networked pattern of energy diplomacy, is better equipped than the regulatory state model to capture the new European politics of energy security.

Forms of state and European energy security: diplomacy and pipelines in Southeastern Europe

ABSTRACT Focusing on natural gas and pipeline infrastructures, and adopting the concept of “forms of state”, the article examines the transformation of energy security politics in Europe. Three state models, with their related pattern of energy diplomacy, are sketched: the partner state, which describes the original politics of the European gas market; and the provider state and catalytic state, which describe two alternative possibilities of the emerging politics in the new institutional and ideational context promoted with the establishment of the internal energy market and the development of the EU’s external energy policy. By analysing the politics of pipeline in Southeastern Europe, the article argues that the catalytic state model with its related pattern of network energy diplomacy is more appropriate than the provider state model, supported by the market approach and its related pattern of multilateral diplomacy, to conceptualise the equilibrium emerging from the transformation of the previous system.

The New Offshore Frontiers of EU Energy Security in the Mediterranean: The Politics of Hydrocarbon Development in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas

Abstract Many EU Mediterranean countries are developing national plans for offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production. The transformation of the Mediterranean Sea into a new frontier for EU energy security has raised important concerns about the protection of the fragile marine ecosystem of this semi-enclosed sea. Additional issues have emerged where states’ boundaries at sea are not yet defined. This article analyses the emerging international and transnational politics of hydrocarbon development in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas by highlighting the main drivers and effects of the recent relaunch of offshore activities in this region.

Giganti petroliferi e grandi consumatori. Gli Stati Uniti, la Gran Bretagna e la rivoluzione petrolifera (1968–1974)

In recent years, Italian historiography has once again paid special attention to the crucial period between the late 1960s and early 1970s, a period in which the structure of the global oil market ...

A dieci anni dallo scontro di civiltà: il dibattito e i test empirici sulle ipotesi di Huntington

The Clash of Civilizations ten years later: The debate and the empirical findings on Huntington’s thesis - The article reviews recent contributions to the debate on the Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington. The aim of the article is to present, in a schematic manner, how the debate on Huntington’s thesis has developed during the last decade, and what is its legacy on contemporary international relations theories. Two different methodological approaches to the clash of civilization are identified, namely the qualitative and quantitative one. Focusing on the latter, the article analyzes the findings of recent studies on internal and international conflicts which test empirically Huntington’s thesis. Finally, the article discusses some limits of Huntington’s work and points out its importance for the development of international relations thinking after the Cold War.