Energy and Geopolitics Global Power and the Struggle for Energy Resources
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34625/issn.2183-2705(39.1)2026.ic-1Keywords:
Energy; Geopolitics; Coal; Oil; Natural Gas; Nuclear Power; Renewable Energies; International RelationsAbstract
This article examines the relationship between energy and geopolitics throughout the contemporary period, focusing on the connection between global hegemony and the control of various energy sources. The analysis covers different periods of energy dominance – from coal to renewables, including oil, natural gas, and nuclear energy – and their power dynamics in international relations. Using a comparative approach, the study identifies the power balances associated with each energy resource and explores the geopolitical implications of the current energy transition.
References
AMUSQUIVAR, Érika L.; PASSOS, Rodrigo D.F. A gênese da geopolítica e sua difusão na história mundial. Revista Brasileira de Estudos de Defesa, vol. 5 (1), 2018, 19-40. ISSN 2358-3932
APOSTU, Simona A., PANAIT, Mirela e VASILE, Valentina. The energy transition in Europe—a solution for net zero carbon? Environmental Science and Pollution Research, Vol.29, 2022. pp. 71358–71379. ISSN: 1614-7499
BORUNDA, Alejandra. “O gás natural é uma energia mais ‘suja’ do que se pensava”, National Geographic, 2023. Disponível: https://www.nationalgeographic.pt/meio-ambiente/gas-natural-e-energia-mais-suja-que-se-pensava_3992. Acesso: 26 Agosto 2025.
BRANT, Maria e VENTURA, Deisy. Efeitos das Controvérsias Investidor-Estado na Capacidade dos Estados de Salvaguardar Direitos. Lua Nova, nº119. 2023. ISSN 1807-0175
BRICOUT, Aymeric et al. From the geopolitics of oil and gas to the geopolitics of the energy transition: Is there a role for European supermajors? Energy Research & Social Science, Volume 88, 2022, ISSN 2214-6296.
BROMLEY, Simon. American hegemony and world oil, The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1991. ISBN 10: 027100746X
COMISSÃO EUROPEIA. Statement by President von der Leyen on the Green Deal Industrial Plan. 2023a. Disponível: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/pt/statement_23_521. Acesso: 7 Agosto 2025
COMISSÃO EUROPEIA. NZIA – green industrial policy in motion. 2023b. Disponível: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/pt/STATEMENT_23_3961. Acesso: 7 Agosto 2025
ENERGY INSTITUTE, 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy. 2025. Disponível: https://www.energyinst.org/statistical-review. Acesso: 26 Agosto 2025.
EVANS, Richard J. The Pursuit of Power. Europe 1915-1914, Penguin Books, London, 2016. ISBN 9780141981147
EVANS, Xavier et al. “The US Inflation Reduction Act: Is it a Green Deal”? Sciences Po – European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition, 2025. Disponível: https://www.sciencespo.fr/psia/chair-sustainable-development/2025/03/25/the-us-inflation-reduction-act-is-it-a-green-deal/. Acesso: 26 Agosto 2025.
FERNIHOUGH, Alan e O'ROURKE, Kevin. Coal and the European Industrial Revolution, The Economic Journal, Vol. 131, nº 635, 2021, pp. 1135–1149. ISSN 0013-0133.
GEE, G. W., MEYER, P. D. e WARD, A. L. Nuclear Waste Disposal, Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, Elsevier, 2005., pp. 56-63. ISBN: 9780128229743
GILBERT, Alexander Q. e SOVACOOL, Benjamin. US liquefied natural gas exports: Boom or bust for the global climate? Energy, nº 141, 2017. pp. 1671-1680. ISSN: 1873-6785.
GOLDTHAU, A. e WESTPHAL, K. Why the Global Energy Transition Does Not Mean the End of the Petrostate. Global Policy, 10, 2019, pp. 279-283. ISSN 1758-5899
HALSER, Christoph e PARASCHIV, Florentina. “Pathways to Overcoming Natural Gas Dependency on Russia—The German Case”, Energies 15, nº14, 2022. ISSN: 1996-1073
INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS. European LNG Tracker, 2024. Disponível em: https://ieefa.org/european-lng-tracker. Acesso: 22 Agosto 2025.
INTERFAX, Binding memorandum on Power of Siberia 2 signed, Russia to increase gas exports to China via existing and new routes, 2 Setembro 2025. Disponível: https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/113563/ Acesso: 21 Outubro 2025
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY. Renewables 2024. 2024. Disponível: https://www.iea.org/reports/renewables-2024 . Acesso: 25 Agosto 2025.
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY. Global critical minerals outlook 2025. 2025. Disponível: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-critical-minerals-outlook-2025. Acesso: 25 Agosto 2025.
JOSHI, Arya. “How has the US maintained hegemony in the international oil trade through its control of the Middle East?”, Journal of Global Faultlines, Vol. 10, nº 2, 2023, pp. 133-148. ISSN: 23977825
KISSINGER, Henry. A Ordem Mundial, Publicações D. Quixote, Lisboa, 2014. ISBN: 9789722056236.
KIVIMAA, Paula. Energy Security and Geopolitics of Energy Transition. In: Security in Sustainable Energy Transitions. Cambridge University Press, 2024, 35-51. ISBN: 9781009368155
KUZEMKO, Caroline., et al. Rethinking Energy Geopolitics: Towards a Geopolitical Economy of Global Energy Transformation. Geopolitics, 30(2), 2024 531–565. ISSN: 1557-3028
LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, What is the role of nuclear in the energy mix and in reducing greenhouse gas emissions? 2022. Disponível em: https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/explainers/role-nuclear-power-energy-mix-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions/ Acesso: 23 Outubro 2025.
MARSH, Jane. “How Many Nuclear Power Plants Are in the World?”, Environment. 2024. https://environment.co/how-many-nuclear-power-plants-are-in-the-world/
MARQUES, José e FELIZARDO. M. “Energia Nuclear de Fusão”, in Rui Vilela Mendes (Editor), Energia: Perspetivas a médio e longo prazo, Parte 1, Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2024, pp. 141-168. ISBN: 978-972-623-417-3
MITROVA, Tatiana. A new Russia-China gas pact could reshape global energy markets. Financial Times. 4 Setembro 2005. Disponivel em: https://www.ft.com/content/55618830-bc86-4536-9126-e64cc15205d3. Acesso: 24 Outubro 2025.
PANWAR N., KAUSHIK S. e KOTHARI, S. ”Role of renewable energy sources in environmental protection: A review”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 15, nº 3, 2011. pp. 1513-1524. ISSN: 1879-0690
PEREIRA, Manuel Collares. “Contribuição para o tema Energias Renováveis. Implicações para uma abordagem mais profunda do tema da Energia”, in Rui Vilela Mendes (Editor), Energia: Perspetivas a médio e longo prazo, Parte 1, Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2024. pp. 59-139. ISBN: 978-972-623-417-3
PURI, Samir. Westlessness, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 2024. ISBN-9781399722643
RICHTER, Marc F. et al., Educação Ambiental e Gases com Efeito de Estufa. Revista Brasileira de Educação Ambiental. 16(5), 2021, pp. 431-445. ISSN 1981-1764
SCHLISSEL, David e BIEWALD, Bruce. Nuclear Power Plant Construction Costs, Synapse Energy Economics, Cambridge, MA, 2008. Disponível: https://www.synapse-energy.com/sites/default/files/SynapsePaper.2008-07.0.Nuclear-Plant-Construction-Costs.A0022_0.pdf. Acesso: 26 Agosto 2025.
SCHRAMM, Lucas. “Some differences, many similarities: comparing Europe’s responses to the 1973 oil crisis and the 2022 gas crisis”, European Political Science Review 16, 2024. pp. 56–71. ISSN 1755-7739.
SKJÆRSETH, John B. Towards a European Green Deal: The evolution of EU climate and energy policy mixes, International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law, and Economics, 21, 2021. pp. 25–41. ISSN: 1573-1553
SMIL, Vaclav. Como o mundo realmente funciona, Crítica, 3ª edição, Lisboa, 2021. ISBN: 9789899103054
SOARES, Antonio Goucha. O Pacto Ecológico Europeu. Revista Jurídica Portucalense, nº 35, 2024. pp. 44-67. ISSN-e: 2183-5705.
STERN, Nicholas. Why Are We Waiting? The Logic, Urgency, and Promise of Tackling Climate Change, The MIT Press, London, 2015. ISBN: 9780262329200
THE ECONOMIST. Putin’s radioactive chokehold on the world, 3 de Julho 2025. Disponível: https://www.economist.com/international/2025/07/03/putins-radioactive-chokehold-on-theworld?fbclid=IwY2xjawMC7bhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkyiDIh2uyi1ZIoicTgfheRpOscJMj27t4THKcoHKtJrZ-ZZu5ays7Dry1HI_aem_tnk4gcfiZh4-u3MxkP6FkA. Acesso em: 26 Agosto 2025.
TRIBUNAL DE JUSTIÇA DA UNIÃO EUROPEIA, Áustria c. Comissão, Caso T-625/22, 10 de Setembro de 2025.
WANG, Qiang.; REN, Fen.; LI, Rongrong. Geopolitics and energy security: a comprehensive exploration of evolution, collaborations, and future directions. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, nº 11, 1071, 2024, ISSN 2662-9992
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM. The US enters its 'drill, baby, drill' era. Here’s what a top energy leader has to say, 2025. Disponível: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/03/us-enters-drill-era-top-energy-leader-oil-gas/ . Acesso em: 26 Agosto 2025.
WORLD NUCLEAR ASSOCIATION. World Nuclear Performance Report 2024. 2024. Disponível: https://world-nuclear.org/images/articles/World-Nuclear-Performance-Report-2024.pdf Acesso em: 26 Agosto 2025.
WU, Linhui; HUSSAIN. Saddam, Navigating the energy transition: Interplay of geopolitics, economic complexity, and environmental governance in OECD countries. Energy Strategy Reviews, vol. 57, 2025, pp. 1-14. ISSN: 2211-4688
YAFIMAVA, Katja. European Energy Security and the Role of Russian Gas, Istituto Affari Internazionali, nº15. 2015. ISSN: 2280-4331
YERGIN, Daniel et al. US LNG Exports at Risk: Potential Unwinding of Sanctions on Russian Natural Gas. S&P Global, 2025. Disponível: https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/special-reports/us-lng-exports-at-risk-potential-unwinding-of-sanctions-on-russian-natural-gas Acesso em: 26 Agosto 2025.
ZACHMANN, George et al. Preparing for the first winter without Russian gas, Bruegel. 2022. Disponível em: https://www.bruegel.org/blog-post/preparing-first-winter-without-russian-gas. Acesso em: 22 Agosto 2025.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Antonio GOUCHA SOARES

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who published in the journal agree to the following terms:
- The Authors grant the Journal the right of first publication, and other non-exclusive publishing rights, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which allows the sharing of work with recognition of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to take on additional contracts separately, non-exclusive distribution of the version of the paper published in this journal (ex .: publish in an institutional repository or as a chapter in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post and distribute their work online (eg .: in institutional repositories or on their website) at any point before or during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as increase the impact and the citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
RJP does not apply submission, publication or any other fees of any nature. Its articles are open access, with the goal of disseminating scientific knowledge and the debate of legal topics in the area of Legal Sciences.


