The Bridge
eBook - PDF

The Bridge

Natural Gas in a Redivided Europe

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Bridge

Natural Gas in a Redivided Europe

About this book

A Marginal Revolution Best Book of the Year
Winner of the Shulman Book Prize


A noted expert on Russian energy argues that despite Europe's geopolitical rivalries, natural gas and deals based on it unite Europe's nations in mutual self-interest.

Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet empire, the West faces a new era of East–West tensions. Any vision of a modern Russia integrated into the world economy and aligned in peaceful partnership with a reunited Europe has abruptly vanished.

Two opposing narratives vie to explain the strategic future of Europe, one geopolitical and one economic, and both center on the same resource: natural gas. In The Bridge, Thane Gustafson, an expert on Russian oil and gas, argues that the political rivalries that capture the lion's share of media attention must be viewed alongside multiple business interests and differences in economic ideologies. With a dense network of pipelines linking Europe and Russia, natural gas serves as a bridge that unites the region through common interests.

Tracking the economic and political role of natural gas through several countries—Russia and Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway—The Bridge details both its history and its likely future. As Gustafson suggests, there are reasons for optimism, but whether the "gas bridge" can ultimately survive mounting geopolitical tensions and environmental challenges remains to be seen.

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Yes, you can access The Bridge by Thane Gustafson in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & Energy Industry. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. A Note on Transliteration
  7. Introduction
  8. 1. Two Worlds of Gas
  9. 2. The Beginnings of the Gas Bridge
  10. 3. From Optimism to Anxiety
  11. 4. Norway and the Rise of the North Sea
  12. 5. Soviet Gas: The Last Hurrah
  13. 6. Crossing the Channel: The Neoliberal Tide Reaches Brussels
  14. 7. Brussels: Marching to Market
  15. 8. The Battle for Germany
  16. 9. Gazprom Survives and Gets Away
  17. 10. Gazprom under Pressure
  18. 11. Russia and Ukraine: Conflict and Collusion
  19. 12. Russian-German Gas Relations
  20. 13. Battle Joined, War Averted
  21. Conclusion: The Future of the Gas Bridge
  22. Notes
  23. Acknowledgments
  24. Index