Russian Energy and Implications to European Security Topic of UW Discussion

A professor from London will discuss whether Russian gas import dependence poses a threat to European security during a free public talk Tuesday, Oct. 31, at the University of Wyoming.

Andreas Goldthau, Royal Holloway University of London international relations professor, will discuss “Russian Energy and European Security: Challenges and Policy Implications” at 6 p.m. in the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center auditorium.

A panel discussion follows the presentation.

In addition to his post at the Royal Holloway University of London, Goldthau serves as the director of the Centre of International Public Policy and is an associate with the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. His research interests are Eurasian energy security and the international political economy of oil and gas.

Against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis, and Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, energy geopolitics are back in Europe, Goldthau says. His talk will explore whether Russian gas import dependence poses a threat to European security and what the European Union (EU) has done about it.

“It will advance the idea that the EU’s policy response oscillates between economic and regulatory power, which is an effective approach to counter Russia’s ‘energy weapon,’” Goldthau says.

A panel discussion, with UW experts and moderated by UW Center for Global Studies Director Jean Garrison, follows the presentation. Panelists are Professor Stephanie Anderson, UW School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies department chair; and Associate Professor Rob Godby, Center for Energy Economics and Public Policy director.

UW’s Center for Global Studies, School of Energy Resources and School of Politics, Public Affairs and International Studies sponsor the event.

For information about future Center for Global Studies events, call (307) 766-6119 or visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/globalcenter/.