Description
The strategic value of natural gas also increases the likelihood of conflict along the value chain. This presents two fascinating puzzles for political scientists: What are the key political and economic sources of natural gas conflicts? How do political debates and security concerns around natural gas evolve over time? In a refreshing theoretical divergence from the traditional energy security literature, this paper analyses natural gas trade as a complex production network. It uses a cutting-edge new method called Discourse Network Analysis (DNA) to analyse how political and economic actors frame natural gas security. By tracing how certain political frames around natural gas appear and diffuse, this method identifies key points of stability and disruption within the network and reveals patterns of cooperation and conflict in natural gas trade over the last two decades. Overall, the key argument of the paper is that natural gas transit security in Europe is affected by institutional discontinuity across political territories, power asymmetries between producers, transit states and consumers, and competition for rents among state and non-state actors. These three key variables explain why natural gas routes have been constantly reimagined in the last two decades. This original and innovative work will transform the academic conversation on natural gas trade by bringing transit networks and their impact on security to the forefront.
