The module examines the strategic importance of energy resources for contemporary states and the claims over them during the 19th and 20th centuries. We follow the transition from the age of coal to the age of oil, Europe’s attempt for energy self-sufficiency and the rally between Europe and the USA for the exploitation of oil resources in the East and the Ottoman Empire. We investigate the ways in which oil exloration effected the strategy of the parties involved in WW II, the post war USA presence in the Middle East, the oil crisis in the ‘70s and its consequences. We consider the coal to oil ratio in Europe and the exploration of new sources of hydrocarbons, as well as possible alternatives to the energy conundrum (nuclear power, wind power, solar power). We further analyse the policies of oil producing countries, along with the geopolitics of oil and natural gas pipes. We examine the dependence of Europe on Russia with concern to hydrocarbons, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the stance of Turkey and the inauguration of new oil-related wars in the Middle East.

With regard to the Greek case, we examine the energy dependence of Greece, the exploitation of lignite and oil reserves, as well as issues relating to the EEZ and the energy policy, taking into consideration Eastern Mediterranean’s importance to Europe. Finally, the module takes interest in current global antagonism instances and the energy policy of the USA and China.

With the successful completion of the course, students will be able to: understand the strategic importance of energy resources for modern states, monitor Europe’s energy self-sufficiency effort, understand the role of oil in war conflicts and analyse the policies of oil-producing countries, as well as the geopolitics of oil and gas pipelines. Finally, to understand the current global competition and energy policy of the US and China.

Course Bibliography (Eudoxus)
1. Θεόδωρος Τσακίρης, Ενεργειακή ασφάλεια και διεθνής πολιτική, Η γεωπολιτική του “Μαύρου Χρυσού” από την ανακάλυψη πετρελαίου στη Μέση Ανατολή έως τη Σχιστολιθική Επανάσταση (1908-2018), Εκδόσεις Παπαζήση, 2018
2. Κωνσταντίνος Γρίβας, Το τέλος του πετρελαίου και η αρχή της νέας αμερικανικής γεωστρατηγικής, εκδόσεις Λιβάνη 2008
Additional bibliography for study
Κόκκινος – Δημήτριος, Γεωπολιτική της ενέργειας στο σύστημα Ευρώπη – Ασία – Μέση Ανατολή, εκδόσεις Λειμών, 2015
Κουτρουμπής Ι, Το δίκτυο αγωγών της Ρωσίας και οι ενεργειακές σχέσεις της με την Ευρώπη, Αθήνα: Παπαζήσης 2022
Högselius, Peter, Energy and Geopolitics, Routledge, 2019
Freese Barbara, Coal A Human History, Perseus Publishing, 2003
Kennedy Paul, Η άνοδος και η πτώση των Μεγάλων Δυνάμεων, εκδόσεις Αξιωτέλη 1991
Klare Michael T., Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict, 2001
Klare Michael T., Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy, Metropolitan Books, 2008
Shah Sonia, Crude. Η ιστορία του αργού πετρελαίου, Αθήνα: Άγρα 2008
Smil, Vaclav, Energy and Civilization: A History, Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: The MIT Press, 2017
Yergin Daniel, The Prize. The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power,-Simon & Schuster 2001
Yergin, Daniel, The New Map: Energy, Climate, and The Clash Of Nations. New York: Penguin Press,2020