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Front Article

Unclear and present danger: Russia’s geoeconomics and the Nord Stream II pipeline

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Pages 377-388
Received 21 Sep 2016
Accepted 18 Oct 2016
Published online: 15 Nov 2016

Russia’s geoeconomics has long been successful in keeping the EU divided in its dealings with Russia. However, Russia’s shift to traditional geopolitics in Ukraine undermined this “wedge strategy” and produced a relative increase in EU unity. This article looks at the features of geoeconomics as a foreign policy strategy, how it differs from geopolitics, and how it gives rise to ambiguity and depoliticization. Faced with the prospect of more rigorous counter-balancing, Russia may soon try to revive its geoeconomic power projection, spearheaded by energy projects in EU. From a technical perspective, the Nord Stream II pipeline could enhance some aspects of the EU–Russia gas trade. However, politically and strategically, Nord Stream II has the potential to undercut Germany’s new leadership role in EU foreign policy, erode general solidarity within the EU, and create substantial policy incoherence for the EU vis-à-vis Ukraine.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Tuomas Kortteinen, Timo Pankakoski, Niklas Helwig, Arkady Moshes, Tuomas Iso-Markku and David Cadier.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr Antto Vihma works as a Senior Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and as Adjunct Professor at the University of Eastern Finland.

Dr Mikael Wigell works as a Senior Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

 

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