Description
Why EU have introduced embargo on import of Russian coal and oil in 2022 for country’s full-scale invasion to Ukraine, while other energy industries, such as civil nuclear industry, remained unsanctioned, or, as liquid natural gas (LNG), only recently started to face partial EU restrictions?
Two prime interests of this study will concern 1) internal differentiations of sanction packages targeting structurally complex economic sectors and 2) the evolution of these measures over time with the perspective of possible expansion.
Drawing of classical international regimes theory and recent regime complexity theory, the main proposed theoretical novelty of this study is to analyse the multidimensional scope of sanctions packages as distinct type of international regimes (IRg).
Theoretical framework of this study will be based on combination of:
• less-institutions centered approaches from the earlier literature on IRg (Krasner 1982, Haggard and Simmons 1987) viewing them foremost as norms and rules
• with elements of recent regime complexity theory (Henning and Prat 2023 ) concentrating on the role of structural factors in explaining international regimes complexity.
The analysis in line with theory-building process-tracing methodology will look
• at the different combinations of four factors (level of dependency, perception of sanctioning feasilibity, concentration of internal losses, targeting effectiveness)
• with different political outcomes (diversification without sanctions, import embargo, effort to control target state economic contacts with third parties)
• in the cases of EU sanctionative responses concerning four Russian energy industries ( coal; oil and petroleum products; natural gas and LNG; civil nuclear industry).
Key Words: Sanctions, Economic Statecraft, International Regimes Theory, Regime Complexity Theory, EU, Russo-Ukrainian War, Energy, Coal, Oil, Natural Gas, LNG, Nuclear.
