The Importance of Energy And The Use of Energy As A Power Factor

Abstract

Power is one of the basic concepts of international relations which has been evolving and varying from the historical times. Even though the power includes different elements, most important thing for a country is to be successful within the international relations and achieve her goal according to her purpose. Hard power and soft power definitions have been made to classify the term “power”. While hard power applies war and military power, soft power depends on culture and political values. Energy has been related to economic power during the recent decades. While countries energy needs have been increasing and dependence on energy has been growing, the role of the energy has gained much importance during the recent years. Countries which have energy reserves have been more popular and more demanding during this period. The role of the energy on international relations have changed attractively during last decades. The Russian Federation is one of the main country which has taken advantage of energy reserves. After the year 2000, Russian Federation has been using energy as an diplomacy instrument by Vladimir Putin. Russian energy policies has been applied as soft and hard power to near abroad countries. Russia has recovered gradually by the revenues of energy and it has used energy to regain regional power with the help of the Vladimir Putin. The aim of the this study is to reveal the power of the energy within the international relations.

Keywords: energy, power, international relations, natural gas, gazprom, economic power