The Master thesis "Importance of LNG in the Global Economy and its Geopolitical Impacts" describes the market with liquefied natural gas and the importance of developing this technology for the global energy market. It analyzes the LNG market and compares it with other energy markets and other energy commodities, especially in terms of financial costs associated with shipping. Also captures the historical context and predictions that accompanied the development of LNG. It focuses on the impact of LNG on isolated gas prices in various regional markets. The thesis also deals with the impact of geopolitical development of LNG. As is reflected in the issue of energy security. Describes who profits from the LNG boom, what threatens other producers of energy resources LNG and how it will develop in the future market.

This thesis deals with the energy security of Israel in contemporary context of regional tension. The paper further examines the factors, which influence the energy security, possible threats and perspectives, which could lead to increased energy independence of the country. The thesis also elaborates on the new trends in the field of natural gas exploitation in Israel.

This research analyses the extent to which three newer (European Union) EU member states, Poland, Bulgaria and Latvia have attempted and succeeded in shaping the development of the EU's energy security policy, focusing on natural gas. This explores the argument that EU membership affects the formation of national foreign and energy policy as well as procedures of policy-making, and that newer member states have also been able to shape EU level policy-making through the ‘uploading’ of national preferences. The research engages with relevant conceptual issues to develop and utilise a framework which is a synthesis of literature on EU agenda-setting, policy framing, Europeanisation and the social construction of energy ‘crises’ and (in)security. This conceptual frame is then used to explore and evaluate the influence of newer member states on EU energy policy agenda-setting, policy-making and policy implementation. Evaluating the obstacles and opportunities for influence, an empirically rich data set is analysed to test the extent to which five theoretically derived hypotheses account for member state influence. Five mechanisms are identified as potentially key factors in explaining the degree of influence which member states have. The thesis suggests that one is the impact of supply disruptions and price rises on perceptions and constructions of national and EU energy security. This can contribute towards a context that is conducive to the arguments about policy change and projection being made, a policy window, and is a reflection of the social construction of energy insecurity and energy crises. Diplomatic skill and learning to ‘play the EU game’, being active in Council summits and technocratic level(s), and engaging in consensual policy-making that adheres to EU norms and interests is seen as important. Another key factor is the role of Russia as a major and sometimes monopoly gas supplier, in constraining, enabling, and influencing the strength of national interests - the extent of political will and EU energy policy activism. A fourth factor is considered to be the extent to which institutionalised sub-EU regional and strategic alliances exist and are prioritised as an arena to develop coordinated policies and preferences. The final conceptually derived factor is related to the strength of administrative capacity, in terms of well-coordinated institutions at the national and EU level, and sufficient personnel and resources. The thesis also provides a study of the development of EU energy policy since the 1950s in chapter two, and chapters three to five focus on the three country case studies; Poland, Bulgaria and Latvia. These empirical chapters include in each case a history of their energy policy and relations with both the EU and Russia. The thesis concludes with an analysis of the empirical findings using comparative country case manner approach, along with conceptual (and methodological) observations based on the testing of the hypotheses.

This diploma thesis is dedicated to the future development of nuclear energy in the EU area and its incorporation into the current EU energy policy. The work also focuses on a detailed examination of EU energy policy in terms of energy security of the Member States and throughout the text deals with the role of nuclear power as a determining factor of energy security. The work is divided into two parts - theoretical part (Chapter one) and research part (Chapter two and three). The first chapter of this thesis is devoted to current theoretical approaches to the issue of energy security. The issues of energy security are then examined in the final part of this chapter in terms of integration into the all-embracing EU energy policy. The second chapter provides an analysis of the current energy situation in the European Union as a whole and in individual Member States. All findings are applied with emphasis on the status of nuclear energy in the energy mix. The final chapter summarizes current nuclear energy trends in the EU. In addition, analysis of the opinion polls and government interventions in the field of nuclear energy are provided.

The study works with the paradigm of energy security of supply in the context of three Central Asian republics; Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It focus on the relations related to gas and oil. The subjects are analyzed from the point of their own energy strategy, institutions' efficiency as well as position in the energy market. The analysis deals with the main external actors; Russia, China and European Union. A great stress is laid on the evolution in gas and oil trading and the energy infrastructure in the region. Problems of relation between energy, security and politics are included. I try to cover the main trends in the gas and oil market and put them in the context of Central Asia. My conclusions limit the popular scheme of russian dominance and stress the growing cooperation with China, in contrast to EU. However, the growing interconnection of the euroasian gas market is also very important.

Shortening supply of strategic raw materials (mostly oil and gas) and increasing demand for these energy raw materials in fast-growing Asian economies caused EU to put energy security among its top interests. The key goal of this thesis is to propose possibilities to increase energy security of the EU so that Europe has continuous and stable energy supplies both from its own sources and from import. I will analyze the current state of EU energy security in the first part of the thesis. I will focus on using EU's own resources and assess the benefits and drawbacks of using renewable energy sources compared to traditional sources. Then I will analyze dependency of EU on energy import and describe particularities and risks of current suppliers. The second part of the thesis will be focused on increasing energy security of the EU. Could the common energetic policy strengthen the energy security? I will also focus on possibilities of supplier and energy sources diversification. Last but not least, I will examine the topic of energetic savings and its impact on energy security.

German Russian relations are key partnership for European security and energy. Many European states, including Czech and Slovak republic, are dependent on the German-Russian economic cooperation. Russia is for Germany historically a strategic partner and the importance of their relationship is rising currently, as well. The cooperation extends and the traditional contradictions are ignored. However, the Ukrainian crisis has brought a change of German policy towards Russia. The thesis describes the character of the relation and problems following the methodology of the international relations theories with real reflection. It analyses the relation from the political and economic dimensions and their close interconnection.

The purpose of this thesis is to counterargue Simon Dalby’s claim that the national security perspective should be replaced by a global security perspective. Dalby argues that the national security is inappropriate to capture the current issues regarding the environmental security. To counterargue Dalby’s claim, I represent the national security perspective by using the perspective of states’ energy security, and compare current trends and issues regarding states’ energy security and the environmental security. This is done to argue that states can either chose to enhance their own energy security or the environmental security. Prisoners' Dilemma is then used as a theoretical framework on an explanatory example to provide insights about a dilemma, called the Energy- Environment Dilemma in this thesis, that curbs states’ ability to commit themselves to the cause of protecting the environmental security. The explanatory example used is the strategic importance of the Northwest passage for the U.S. and Canada. The results of this thesis suggests that the national security perspective, in combination with Prisoners’ Dilemma, is useful to provide insights about the Energy-Environmental Dilemma. Replacing it with a global security perspective would be to ignore a perspective which can provide insights about a challenge for states to commit to the cause of protecting the environmental security.

This master's thesis is aimed at analyzing the integration processes between the European Union and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a major oil and gas supplier, while the European Union actively seeks diversification of energy resource supplies for the purpose of reaching higher energy security. The aim of the research is to investigate the relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union. The nature of relations between the two stated subjects are being analyzed, and the main preconditions favoring such relations. In order to provide comprehensive analysis, the situation of Azerbaijan's relations with the European Union with the same bilateral relations with the EU of Turkey, Ukraine and China are being analyzed within this thesis.

Decades of cooperation between the United States and its Middle Eastern partners have come to a turning point. The 2008 Shale Revolution has brought the United States heretofore unknown scale of energy independece. The Revolution has created an unprecedented increase in United States' unconventional cost-effectively extractable energy reserves. It is estimated that within next two decades the United States should change from net importer of hydrocarbons to net exporter. There is a lot of speculation, whether due to possible energy independece, the foreign policy towards its Middle Eastern partners would change and whether the United States would isolate itself. Aim of this work is to explore the impact of the Shale Revolution on energy security of the United States and its implications for future geopolitics towards the Middle East. The main question to be explored is whether it would change United States' geopolitics at all and if yes, how would it look like. Since domestic oil prices are based on global energy prices and since Middle Eastern partners are unique in their capability of supplying global energy markets with large quantities of oil in the long run, even after the Shale Revolution it will be essential for the United States to continue its cooperation with its Middle Eastern partners....