Energy Regionalism: Conceptual Origins and Empirical Insights

Šekarić-Stojanović Nevena (Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu), nevena.sekaric@diplomacy.bg.ac.rs

With the growing academic, political, and media interest in energy issues over the past few decades, there has been a noticeable emergence of new and/or redefinition of existing concepts addressing these issues from various disciplinary perspectives. One such conceptual framework is energy regionalism. Although often unjustifiably overlooked, the regional level of analysis, alongside global and national levels, can offer valuable insights into key issues of energy security and energy policy. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to synthesize the most significant perspectives on energy regionalism and to shed light on how some of the key energy related issues interact with regionalization processes. The outcomes of such dynamics are so-called energy regions, characterized by a diversity of actors, governance practices, and norms regulating the established relations. Although the development of the energy regionalism concept is still in its early stages, the analysis highlights the need for further critical examination and refinement of the concept, especially considering that certain energy-related issues may have transformative implications for the social and political dynamics of a region.

Keywords: energy regionalism, energy security, energy policy, region, energy region, energy infrastructure