The European Union as an Energy Actor: Conceptualizing the Energy Actorness
- Lukáš Tichý
Abstract
This article focuses on the relationship between the EU actorness and the internal and external dimension of energy policy in an effort to conceptualize the EU energy actorness. In this respect, the main goals of the article are two. The first is to identify the basic aspects of EU actorness and to define their interrelationship in energy policy. The second is to conceptualize individual criteria of the external and internal dimensions of EU energy actorness and to analyze the possibilities of their use in the context of the discussion between conventional constructivism and rationalism. The intention is to create a modified framework incorporating the internal and external dimension of the EU’s energy actorness, operationalized by a set of criteria that can be used to analyze the EU energy policy and its relations. The article should contribute to understanding the issue of the EU’s actorness and to deepening the debate on energy policy.
Keywords
European Union, actorness, energy policy, conventional constructivism, rationalism
Author Biography
Lukáš Tichý
Lukáš Tichý, PhD, is the Head of the Centre for Energy Policy at the Institute of International Relations Prague. His fields of interest include Russian energy security, Russian foreign and security policy, energy security, discourse analysis, terrorist attacks on the energy sector, EU-Russia relations and the theories of international relations. He lectures at Metropolitan University Prague. He has published several articles in various domestic and foreign journals, including Energy Policy, International Politics, Middle East Policy, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Asia Europe Journal, Energy Strategy Reviews, International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection, and European Political Science, and several conference proceedings and monographs, e.g. with Springer. He is a member of the editorial boards of several Czech journals, e.g. the Czech Military Review (Vojenské rozhledy), CEJISS, and Modern Africa.