Pragmatism and Ideology in Russian-German Energy Relations

Abstract

For a long time, cooperation between Russia and Germany in the energy sector was based on bilateral interests and economic pragmatism, but recently in its relations with Russia the Federal Republic of Germany has been demonstrating ideologisation and loss of sovereignty in the important sphere of energy supply. This article investigated the history of bilateral energy relations, their characteristics, the political consequences of their disruption, and the results of the German energy policy. The results of the study include quantitative data on the volume of energy co-operation between the two states in the energy sector, as well as the status and dynamics of the German energy sector over the last 30 years. The main conclusions of the study are: 1) the thesis of Germany’s declining opportunities on the world stage because of its shrinking economic power has been proved.

2) The assumption of the importance of low-cost energy supplies from Russia for Germany has been confirmed. 3) The vulnerability of the German political system to external influence through destructive political forces has been revealed. The final conclusion was that ideology has taken priority over pragmatism in German energy and foreign policy towards Russia in recent years.