A critical evaluation of the securitisation process of EU-Russia energy relations: actors, audiences, and consequences Olga Khrushcheva A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2013 1 This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within this document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed in the owner of the Intellectual Property Rights. Some of the main ideas in this thesis have been presented in conference sessions, and I have also published two articles based on work done within thesis (Khrushcheva, 2011; Khrushcheva, 2012), which contributes to Chapters 2, 3 and 5. 2 Acknowledgments This research project would not have been possible without the support of many people. I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my Director of Studies, Dr. Chris Farrands who was abundantly helpful and offered invaluable assistance, support and guidance. I am particularly grateful for the assistance given by my second supervisor, Dr. Rick Simon, especially for his advice and guidance regarding Russian politics. The good advice, support and friendship of my third supervisor, Dr. Imad El-Anis, has been invaluable on both an academic and a personal level, for which I am extremely grateful. I wish to acknowledge the help provided by Dr. Sagarika Dutt, who acted as an independent assessor for my research project. My special thanks are extended to my collegues at the Nottingham Trent University for their support and advice. I would like to acknowledge the academic and technical support of the Nottingham Trent University. I would like to thank the following institutions and companies for their assistance with the collection of my data: The European Commission, EU-Russia Centre, the Ministry of Economics of Germany, Gazprom, Altaigazprom, Altai-21st Century, the Government of the Republic of Altai, the Institute for Water and Environmental Problems, National Energy Security Fund, Moscow State Institute of International Relations. I would like to offer my special thanks to my friend and colleague Marianna Poberezhskaya for her support and encouragement throughout. Advice given by Marianna has been a great help in designing and conducting media analysis. I want to dedicate this work to my mother, Tatiana Khrushcheva for believing in me, for her personal support and great patience at all times. My grandmother and my father have given me their unequivocal support throughout, for which my mere expression of thanks does not suffice. I would like to express my very great appreciation to my friends in Russia and in England for their support and encouragement. 3 Abstract Russia started to export hydrocarbons to Western Europe in the middle of the Cold War, and for a long time, despite their ideological differences, Russia was considered to be a reliable energy supplier. Starting from the early 2000s, EU-Russia energy relations were transformed from a mainly economic dimension to a political one. Currently, energy trade is seen as part of national security for both Russia and the European Union (EU). The central question of this study: is how EU-Russia energy relations have become highly securitised? This thesis approaches this problem from the perspective of a critical reading of securitisation theory. Following Balzacq (2005) and Fierke (2007), the securitisation process is de-constructed into the follows elements: securitisation actors (in Russia and in the EU), the speech act (negotiation of energy security to the audience), context of securitising (economic, political, and cultural), the consequences of securitisation, and the potential for de-securitisation. The thesis applies combination of quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection and analysis. The thesis uses an interpretive constructivist account and a methodology which integrates that theory with the specific methods of inquiry. It uses some quantitative analysis, but rests primarily on a qualitative approach consistent with its roots in the Critical Security Studies (CSS) literature. The extensive analysis of EU-Russia energy relations demonstrates that the securitisation of energy relations resulted from a number of factors which are not necessarily directly connected with energy security. For instance, the Russian government securitises the energy sector because of its importance for Russian economic development and, consequently, its political stability. At the same time, the securitisation process within the EU is more complex and involves the clash between the supranational and national levels, and between the member states with different level of dependence on Russia. The national security and collective memory played an important role in the securitisation process in both Russia and the EU. For example, the media analysis demonstrated that the securitising actors use the shared knowledge to negotiate energy security threats to the audience. As a result of the securitisation process, both Russia and the EU have securitised energy policies and try to diversify energy demand and supply. This thesis demonstrates that the EU-Russia energy relations would benefit from managed de-securitisation and a move towards the international governance of their energy relations (via institutions and international 4 agreements). The thesis recognizes throughout that there are fundamental differences between the Russian government and the EU as energy policy makers; but at the same time there are sufficient similarities between the securitisation process in each that the theory can be applied to both. However, the aim is not to make comparative study of the similarities of the two institutional frameworks so much as to draw out the implications for energy security of their differences. The thesis is original because it: (a) rests on a set of wholly original interviews conducted in English and Russian in a range of a range of countries and institutions; (b) deploys a distinctive critical reading of CSS in both its theory and methodology; (c) draws original conclusions from the research; and (d) suggests policy implications which follow from these conclusions. 5 Table of contents List of abbreviations 8 List of tables 9 Introduction 10 Context 12 Research question 18 Aims and objectives 19 Indicative Literature Review 19 Originality 26 Timeframe 28 Chapter Outline 31 Chapter 1: Theory and Methodology 33 Introduction 34 Broader theoretical background 34 Security as a speech act 37 Applying securitisation theory to EU-Russia relations 43 Critical Approach to Emancipation 46 Methodology 51 Epistemology 52 Ontology 55 Axiology 57 Method 59 Literature Review 59 Analysis of legislation, official documentation, and international agreements in energy sphere 60 Media Analysis 61 Conclusion 66 Chapter 2: The level of agent: the EU 67 Introduction 68 European Context 69 The Energy Charter Treaty 76 Domestic Context 80 Conclusion 95 Chapter 3. The level of agent: Russia 98 Introduction 99 Creation of vertically-integrated energy companies 107 FDI in the oil and gas sectors 121 The clash between political and economic factors in Russian energy policy 129 Chapter 4. The level of act: Media Analysis 134 Qualitative Analysis of European media 166 Cross-national analysis of European media frame 167 Media frame created by European newspapers: 171 Chapter 5. De-Securitisation of EU-Russia energy relations: reasons and strategies 180 6 Introduction 181 Diversification of Russian gas supplies 182 The EU strategy for supply diversification 191 Competition over Central Asian Gas 193 Competition between NABUCCO and South Stream 197 Approaches towards the de-securitisation of EU-Russia energy relations 199 De-securitisation of energy trade by Russia 202 The de-securitisation on the European level 204 De-securitisation on the international level 205 Conclusion 208 Conclusions 210 Bibliography 223 7 List of abbreviations The EU the European Union The CIS the Commonwealth of the Independent States The CSS the Critical Security Studies bcm billion cubic meters ECT Energy Charter Treaty EEC European Energy Charter FDI Foreign Direct Investment OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries LNG Liquefied Natural Gas NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization GUAM Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova GUUAM Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova CACO the Central Asian Cooperation Organization EurAsEc the European Economic Community GMT Greenwich Mean Time 8 List of tables Table 1 Major Oil Producers p. 118 Table 2 European Newspapers p. 148 Table 3 Kommersant p. 150 Table 4 Nezavisimaya Gazeta (Independent Newspaper) p. 151 Table 5 Komsomolskaya Pravda p. 152 Table 6 Rossiiskaya Gazeta (Russian newspaper) p. 152 Table 7 the Daily Telegraph (London) p. 154 Table 8 the Independent (London) p. 155 Table 9 the Guardian p. 156 Table 10 the Observer p. 156 Table 11 Russian pipelines for natural gas supplies p. 182 9 Introduction 10 This thesis focuses on the securitisation of energy relations between Russia and the European Union (EU) and is based on the theoretical assumptions of Critical Security Studies (CSS). In particular, this work draws upon the critique of the Copenhagen School of Thought suggested by Balzacq