EU Energy Policy and Geopolitical Strategy in a Fragmenting World Order Course

Undergraduate Course (Bachelor’s Level)

This course introduces undergraduate students to the European Union’s energy policy and its geopolitical significance. It examines how energy strategy, supply dependencies, and sustainability goals influence the EU’s regional and international relationships. The course provides historical context and practical case studies to understand the interplay between internal energy reforms and external pressures.

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the development and objectives of EU energy policy.
  • Identify key institutions, actors, and instruments shaping the EU’s energy agenda.
  • Analyse how energy policy intersects with foreign and security policy.
  • Evaluate the EU’s role in global energy politics using regional examples.

Assessment

Class Participation (25%), Case Study Report (25%), Final Essay (50%)

Structure

  1. Introduction to EU Energy Policy and its Global Context
  2. A Brief History of Energy Integration in Europe
  3. The Role of the European Commission and Member States
  4. Energy Security and Infrastructure: Pipelines, Grids, and LNG
  5. The Green Deal: Climate, Energy, and Sustainability
  6. Energy and Geopolitical Tensions: Russia and Eastern Europe
  7. Regional Case – The Southern Gas Corridor and Caspian Strategy
  8. EU External Energy Policy in the Mediterranean and Africa
  9. Transatlantic Energy Cooperation with the US
  10. Challenges of Energy Transition in Central and Eastern Europe
  11. Student Presentations – Energy Strategy and Regional Power

Graduate Course (Master’s Level)

This graduate-level course offers an advanced, critical analysis of the European Union’s energy policy as both a product and driver of geopolitical transformation. It examines the EU’s efforts to secure energy autonomy, assert regulatory influence, and navigate global power shifts in a time of intensifying climate imperatives and multipolar competition. Students will explore how internal market dynamics, strategic dependencies, and technological transitions affect the EU’s diplomatic posture and capacity to act as a global energy actor. Through theoretical reflection and policy-driven case studies, the course interrogates how energy strategy is embedded within the EU’s broader search for relevance and resilience in international order.

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the development and objectives of EU energy policy.
  • Identify key institutions, actors, and instruments shaping the EU’s energy agenda.
  • Analyse how energy policy intersects with foreign and security policy.
  • Evaluate the EU’s role in global energy politics using regional examples.

Assessment

Class Participation (25%), Case Study Report (25%), Final Essay (50%)

Structure

  1. Theorising EU Energy Policy: Institutions, Interests, and Strategy
  2. Energy as a Grand Strategic Domain: Between Autonomy and Interdependence
  3. Market Integration, Infrastructure, and the Politics of Energy Solidarity
  4. Climate Diplomacy and the Externalisation of the Green Deal
  5. Strategic Dependencies: Gas, Hydrogen, and Raw Materials
  6. Energy Coercion and the Russia–Europe Security Nexus
  7. Geoeconomics and Energy Diplomacy in the Neighbourhood and Africa
  8. The EU and Global Energy Governance: Norms, Law, and Institutional Competition
  9. Energy Partnerships and Rivalries: The US, China, and the Global South
  10. Scenario Planning – Strategic Forecasting in EU Energy Policy
  11. Simulation – EU Council Crisis Meeting on Strategic Energy Alignment

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