This book is an approach, in the wider theoretical considerations on scientific research and study, of issues relating to energy resources and energy security and, at the same time, it is a case study on Eastern Mediterranean energy security. The Mediterranean has been known since ancient times as a large semi-enclosed sea, surrounded by more than two states as it lies between three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. However, developments in the 21st century have necessitated viewing it conceptually as a distinct "new" region with specific characteristics. Comprised by Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Turkey, Italy the region is assuming increased significance in world affairs. More specifically, the region of the Eastern Mediterranean is currently of vital importance for the EU, due to several prospects and challenges, such as migration flows, energy, security and sustainability of the region. The individual objectives are the recognition of energy actions and resources, forms of energy, energy security and in general, all actions at the energy level mentioned in the specific area. Research this study will focus on the qualitative method to the subject. The structure of the present study was developed as follows: The Preface provides a general presentation of the topic. The first chapter presents an overview of eastern Mediterranean and energy issues. The second chapter reports on energy resources and it focuses on energy security and its basic principles. The third chapter is about energy and security. The fourth Chapter offers discussion on European Union's energy policy development and on the EU interests, strategy and policy regarding the Eastern Mediterranean region. The fifth chapter presents the changes in the East Mediterranean energy map and data on geopolitical chessboard. The last chapter presents the conclusions. A useful tool in completing this study was the understanding of the delicate ethnocultural and religious synthesis of the region, the current challenges and underlying controversies, considering the interlinked nature of interests and the importance of cross-border affiliations. All the findings of the study demonstrate certain dimensions of a reality, which are expected to be dynamic, creating risk but also future opportunities. The main finding of the study points out not only the strong correlation between energy, power, economics and politics but also the increased dependence of the latter two on the former, thus creating a hotbed of tensions, rivalries, and conflicts every time the existing relationship between economy and energy are destabilized. The shifting to energy sources, which are safe and eco-friendly, is a one-way process, the only means of survival and safe development for humanity. Generating energy based on economic, safe, cost-efficient and renewable criteria is the current ecological and technological challenge if, firstly, the vast interests in the energy sector are dealt with successfully. Finally, this book will be of key interest to scholars and students, for researchers in the fields of Energy Economics, Policy, and Security, Energy Law, Business, Regulation and Policy, Geopolitics, who aim to have a better understanding of the current trends or research in the relevant fields, for professionals in EU politics and foreign policy, energy policy and security, and more broadly to security studies, European politics and international relations and newcomers in the profession of energy security, and for policymakers who intend to apply the collective knowledge included into this volume into policy and decision -making.

This book aims to provide an overview of crucial aspects related to the interconnection between the political economy of energy security and national security, which is of great importance globally due to high volatility and complexity. In this book, contemporary energy issues in relation to the energy security are examined, along with main vulnerabilities and challenges that have appeared lately with an impact beyond country borders and with a particular focus on the Eastern Mediterranean region. Energy security is studied on both International and European level and finally the Eastern Mediterranean region with special reference to the countries of the State of Israel and the Republic of Cyprus. The rapidly changing geopolitical environment makes energy security one of the critical areas of immediate interest that need a holistic approach. The importance of energy security in the Eastern Mediterranean region is constantly growing and requires the proper vision to enhance security in the region. Energy is now linked to the issues of sustainable development and tackling climate change, which is also taken into account. Finally, this book is expected to contribute to the existing literature and provide an in-depth study that gives a fresh approach to the academic and political community.

For more than a century, energy and its procurement have been central to the U.S. position as a world power. How can U.S. relations with established producer nations ensure the stability of energy supplies? How can non-OPEC resources best be brought to the international marketplace? And what are the risks to international security of growing global reliance on imported oil? n Energy and Security: Toward a New Foreign Policy Strategy, Jan H. Kalicki and David L. Goldwyn bring together the topmost foreign policy and energy experts and leaders to examine these issues, as well as how the U.S. can mitigate the risks and dangers of continued energy dependence through a new strategic approach to foreign policy that integrates both U.S. energy and national security interests. Contributors include Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Kevin A. Baumert, Michelle Billig, Loyola de Palacio, Jonathan Elkind, Michelle Michot Foss, Leon Fuerth, Lee H. Hamilton, Evan M. Harrje, John P. Holdren, Paul F. Hueper, Amy Myers Jaffe, J. Bennett Johnston, Donald A. Juckett, Viktor I. Kalyuzhny, Melanie A. Kenderdine, William F. Martin, Charles McPherson, Kenneth B. Medlock III, Ernest J. Moniz, Edward L. Morse, Julia Nanay, Shirley Neff, Willy H. Olsen, Bill Richardson, John Ryan, James R. Schlesinger, Gordon Shearer, Adam E. Sieminski, Alvaro Silva-Calderón, Luis Téllez Kuenzler, J. Robinson (Robin) West, Daniel Yergin, and Keiichi Yokobori.

The wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean is in transition. What is being evinced is a situation of continuous volatility, centering on developments such as the ’Arab Spring,’ the Greek sovereign debt crisis, Islamic terrorism, the continuation of deadlock over the Cypriot and Palestinian Issues, significant energy finds in the Levantine Basin, concerns over nuclear proliferation and, more recently, the Syrian Civil War. At a systemic level, the move towards a regional multipolar reality has also contributed to volatility by creating a crescendo of antagonisms between all the major international actors who continuously strive for more influence, power and prestige. This collective project by leading experts represents a unique combination of International Theory and International Politics analysis that deals exclusively with the wider Eastern Mediterranean. It scrutinizes in a multidimensional manner the current geostrategic and geopolitical conditions that include the latest domestic socio-political events, as well as the active involvement of the Great Powers in the region. This book should be of interest to academics, decision-makers and a general reading public focusing on a significant and influential region in flux.

Energy security, at the heart of energy policy, has become central to the dynamics of international relations. Political turmoil has overwhelmed many oil and gas producing countries, forcing them to adapt their national energy policies according to this continuous change. Specifically, because of the wars and instability in the Middle East and the Ukrainian crisis, global energy security is no longer guaranteed. One of the foremost experts on the energy industry, Daniel Yergin, identifies energy security as “the availability of sufficient supplies at affordable prices.” He also comments that every country interprets the definition of energy security with its own dynamics. In practice, the definition of energy security is polysemic and the topic of energy security is being explored daily, under the lens of numerous new studies, by scholars, energy experts, government officials, activists, and journalists.

Combining theoretical reflections and empirical insights from paradigmatic case studies in the area of external energy governance, pipeline politics, Liquefied Natural Gas development and offshore petroleum policy and politics, this ground-breaking study demonstrates that a distinctive and new politics of energy security is definitively emerging in the European Union. Innovative not only in regard to the case studies presented (which include the Caspian region, the Baltic, Mediterrean countries, Central Asia and EU-Russia relations), but also in regard to the analytical framework adopted – an International Political Economy approach informed by an historical institutional perspective – the book challenges the common view of the ‘de-politicisation’ of energy security supported by the mainstream market approach and the power politics and ‘zero-sum game’ view supported by the geopolitical perspective. This book places the study of EU energy politics in the broader, evolving context of global energy markets and explores the complex interactions between EU and national political dynamics and between energy security and environmental concerns at the local level.

First Published in 2004. This book focuses on international relations in the Mediterranean area with a particular examination of patterns of relations in the Euro-Mediterranean area.