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© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
O. Shokri Kalehsar, US Energy Diplomacy in the Caspian Sea Basin,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66929-4_1
Chapter 1
Theoretical Framework
Abstract Despite the various interpretations of preceding theories regarding
international relations, there are commonalities and relations among them. At of the
end of the Cold War, economic globalization has rapidly expanded. Energy security
was believed to be achieved through international cooperation and coordination as
it is believed to be associated with not only the sustainable development of economy
and society but also the external political and economic relations of nation-states.
Recent and current studies on energy politics and energy security dwell on the geopolitical perspective, addressing geopolitics as a theoretical tool. Energy politics
and energy security are analyzed in order to establish geopolitics-based energy
geopolitics.
The geopolitical features of energy issues have been attributed to the scarcity and
unbalanced distribution of energy. There needs to be a balance among the regions in
terms of oil economy since it is a global issue. Thus, a specific geostrategic theory,
addressing the destructive features and unbalanced distribution of the oil resources,
needs to be developed. Energy production and consumption can be handled through
cooperation among countries, but it can also cause them to compete against each
other, leading to destructive conflicts and wars. Owing to the geographically unbalanced nature of the global oil and gas resources in terms of distribution, production,
and consumption, which entail the separation of various economic factors associated with oil (e.g., resources and consumption, capital and demand, science, technology, and development), the strategic competition in oil is on the rise and the
effects of the global energy geopolitical patterns are undergoing changes.
Keywords Energy diplomacy · Structural realism · Kenneth Waltz · Balance of
power · Hegemony
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
O. Shokri Kalehsar, US Energy Diplomacy in the Caspian Sea Basin,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66929-4_1
Chapter 1
Theoretical Framework
Abstract Despite the various interpretations of preceding theories regarding
international relations, there are commonalities and relations among them. At of the
end of the Cold War, economic globalization has rapidly expanded. Energy security
was believed to be achieved through international cooperation and coordination as
it is believed to be associated with not only the sustainable development of economy
and society but also the external political and economic relations of nation-states.
Recent and current studies on energy politics and energy security dwell on the geopolitical perspective, addressing geopolitics as a theoretical tool. Energy politics
and energy security are analyzed in order to establish geopolitics-based energy
geopolitics.
The geopolitical features of energy issues have been attributed to the scarcity and
unbalanced distribution of energy. There needs to be a balance among the regions in
terms of oil economy since it is a global issue. Thus, a specific geostrategic theory,
addressing the destructive features and unbalanced distribution of the oil resources,
needs to be developed. Energy production and consumption can be handled through
cooperation among countries, but it can also cause them to compete against each
other, leading to destructive conflicts and wars. Owing to the geographically unbalanced nature of the global oil and gas resources in terms of distribution, production,
and consumption, which entail the separation of various economic factors associated with oil (e.g., resources and consumption, capital and demand, science, technology, and development), the strategic competition in oil is on the rise and the
effects of the global energy geopolitical patterns are undergoing changes.
Keywords Energy diplomacy · Structural realism · Kenneth Waltz · Balance of
power · Hegemony