Nord Stream 2 and Regional Geopolitics in the Baltic Sea Region

While geopolitical perspectives on Nord Stream 2 have proliferated in recent years, examinations of Nord Stream 2 and regional energeopolitics in the Baltic Sea Region as a specific geopolitical area are more limited. This aspect of the project will focus on the regional energeopolitics of Nord Stream 2 both prior to and in the aftermath of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Firstly, it will consider how contesting understandings of energy security and the best way to achieve the energy transition, as well as broader security and geopolitical factors, contributed to a cleavage in regional energy policy prior to the invasion. In particular, it will examine the consequences of state-specific positions on Nord Stream 2 for non-energy specific patterns of cooperation and contention at the bilateral and multilateral levels within the Baltic Sea Region. Secondly, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent suspension of Ukraine will serve as a case study for assessing the interaction between regional and global energeopolitics with relation to regional energy projects. Consideration will be paid to the geopolitical costs and benefits of large scale projects like Nord Stream 2 in the context of hostile global geopolitics and the potential trajectory of future regional energy cooperation and transformation given both the likely ostracization of Russia from regional energy negotiations and a greater convergence between other regional states.