Russia’s Energy Relations in South-Eastern Europe: A Politically Motivated Conduct?

The series of gas-related disputes and mutual accusations between Russia and the Central and South-Eastern European countries brought attention to Russian state-owned company Gazprom and its subsidiaries active in the region. Bulgaria and Greece are no exception since they have been playing key role in plans to bring both Russian and non-Russian natural gas to Europe via new infrastructural projects. The main goal of the paper is to find out whether Russian activities in Greece and Bulgaria show signs of politicization and might thus serve to strengthen Russian influence in this region. For this purpose, a theoretical model of a strategically motivated behaviour based on the strategic approach to energy policy was developed. The methodological framework is based on disciplined interpretative case study, a theory-driven approach where previously created model is applied to abovementioned cases.