Journals / Düşünce Dünyasında Türkiz / 2025 / Cilt: 16 Sayı: 3

Building Soft Power Through Energy Policies: The Example of the European Union

Enerji Politikaları Üzerinden Yumuşak Güç İnşası: Avrupa Birliği Örneği

Tuğba Çakıroğlu(POLİS AKADEMİSİ, TRAFİK ENSTİTÜSÜ, ULAŞIM GÜVENLİĞİ VE YÖNETİMİ ANABİLİM DALI)0000-0001-5128-4371
Pages
351–377
Publication Date
2025-12-31
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Thus, it is emphasized that energy policies are a multidimensional mechanism that reinforces the EU's normative power, strengthens its leadership in the international system, and supports its strategic autonomy.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study examines how the European Union (EU) designs its energy policies as a foreign policy tool and how it achieves soft power through this approach.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Sustainability, green transformation, and environment-based strategies play a decisive role in the EU's norm transfer, value-based relationship building, and cooperation-based foreign policy production.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:Thus, it is emphasized that energy policies are a multidimensional mechanism that reinforces the EU's normative power, strengthens its leadership in the international system, and supports its strategic autonomy.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Yumuşak Güç · Avrupa Birliği · Enerji Diplomasisi

Abstract

This study examines how the European Union (EU) designs its energy policies as a foreign policy tool and how it achieves soft power through this approach. Sustainability, green transformation, and environment-based strategies play a decisive role in the EU's norm transfer, value-based relationship building, and cooperation-based foreign policy production. The EU's strategies for increasing its global influence through energy diplomacy, supply security, carbon neutrality targets, renewable transition processes, and environmental regulations are analyzed in detail. Thus, it is emphasized that energy policies are a multidimensional mechanism that reinforces the EU's normative power, strengthens its leadership in the international system, and supports its strategic autonomy.

Özet

Bu çalışma, Avrupa Birliği’nin (AB) enerji politikalarını bir dış politika aracı olarak nasıl kurguladığını ve bu yolla yumuşak güç inşasını nasıl gerçekleştirdiğini incelemektedir. Sürdürülebilirlik, yeşil dönüşüm ve çevre temelli stratejiler, AB’nin norm aktarımı, değer temelli ilişkiler kurması ve iş birliğine dayalı dış politika üretiminde belirleyici rol üstlenmektedir. Enerji diplomasisi, arz güvenliği, karbon nötr hedefler, yenilenebilir dönüşüm süreçleri ve çevresel düzenlemeler üzerinden AB’nin küresel ölçekte etkisini artırma stratejileri ayrıntılı olarak analiz edilmektedir. Böylece enerji politikalarının, AB’nin normatif gücünü pekiştiren, uluslararası sistemde liderliğini güçlendiren ve stratejik özerkliğini destekleyen çok boyutlu bir mekanizma olduğu vurgulanmaktadır.

🔖

Cite This Article

Çakıroğlu, T. (2025). Building Soft Power Through Energy Policies: The Example of the European Union. Düşünce Dünyasında Türkiz, Cilt: 16 Sayı: 3, 351–377. https://doi.org/10.59281/turkiz.1781288

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (75)

  1. Babb, S. (2013). The Washington Consensus as transnational policy paradigm: Its origins, trajectory and likely successor. Review of International Political Economy, 20(2): 268-297.
  2. Bäckstrand, K., & Elgström, O. (2013). The EU’s role in climate change negotiations: From leader to ‘leadiator’. Journal of European Public Policy, 20(10): 1369–1386.
  3. Belyi, A. V. (2015). EU external energy policy: Between geopolitics and the market. Palgrave Macmillan.
  4. Belyi, A. V. (2015). Normative power Europe and energy security policy: The EU–Russia energy dialogue revisited. Geopolitics, 20(3): 617–636. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2015.1022117
  5. Biedenkopf, K., & Petri, F. (2021). EU green diplomacy: Challenges and opportunities in the context of the European Green Deal. Climate Policy, 21(10): 1320–1333.
  6. Biermann, F., Kalfagianni, A., & Gupta, A. (2017). The fragmentation of global governance architectures: A framework for analysis. Global Environmental Politics, 17(4): 15–24.
  7. Biresselioğlu, M. E., & Solak, B. (2024). Framing the impacts of the European Green Deal: Reflections on the EU as a “Normative Power” and beyond. Ankara Avrupa Çalışmaları Dergisi, 23(Özel Sayı): 91–134.
  8. Bordoff, J., & O’Sullivan, M. L. (2012). The geopolitics of energy: Emerging trends, changing landscapes, uncertain times. Geopolitics of Energy, 34(1): 2–20.
  9. Börzel, T. A., & Risse, T. (2009). The transformative power of Europe: The European Union and the diffusion of ideas. KFG Working Paper Series, No. 1. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168- ssoar-193844
  10. Britannica. (2024). European Coal and Steel Community. https://www.britannica.com/topic/European-Coal-and-Steel-Community
  11. Buchan, D. (2015). Energy policy: Sharp challenges and rising ambitions. Oxford University Press. Chaban, N., Elgström, O., & Holland, M. (2017). The European Union as others see it. European Foreign
  12. Checkel, J. T. (2005). International institutions and socialization in Europe: Introduction and framework.
  13. Delreux, T., & Happaerts, S. (2016). Environmental policy and politics in the European Union. Palgrave Macmillan.
  14. Dupont, C. (2016). Climate policy integration into EU energy policy: Progress and prospects. Politics and Governance, 4(3): 29–39.
  15. Dupont, C., & Moore, B. (2020). EU climate leadership after COP21: The pitfalls of projecting normative power. Global Policy, 11(1): 36–45.
  16. Energy Community. (2024). About us. https://www.energy-community.org
  17. Energy Community. (2025). Energy Community Treaty. https://www.energy-community.org
  18. ENTSO-E. (2022). Continental Europe synchronous area successfully synchronized with Ukraine and Moldova. https://www.entsoe.eu
  19. European Commission. (2020). Clean energy for all Europeans. https://www.ecologic.eu
  20. European Commission. (2022). REPowerEU Plan. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and- policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal/repowereu-affordable-secure-and-sustainable- energy-europe_en
  21. European Commission. (2023). Global Gateway and the external dimension of the European Green Deal. Brussels: DG ENER.
  22. European Commission. (2024). EU–Ukraine energy dialogue and integration progress report. https://www.ec.europa.eu
  23. European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). (2022). The geopolitics of the European Green Deal. https://ecfr.eu European View, 21(1): 29–36.
  24. European Commission. (2019a). The European Green Deal. Brussels. https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en European Commission. (2019b). The European Green Deal. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52019DC0640
  25. Fusiek, D. (2021). The European Green Deal: Normative Power Europe reloaded. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 78(6): 922–939. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207233.2021.1915317
  26. Fusiek, D. A. (2021). EU as a green normative power: How could the European Green Deal become a normative tool in EU’s climate diplomacy? Institute of European Democrats. https://www.iedonline.eu/publications/2021
  27. Goldthau, A. (2016). Rethinking the governance of energy infrastructure: Scale, decentralization and polycentrism. Energy Research & Social Science, 10: 1–6.
  28. Goldthau, A., & Sitter, N. (2015). A liberal actor in a realist world: The European Union regulatory state and the global political economy of energy. Oxford University Press.
  29. Goldthau, A., & Sitter, N. (2015a). A liberal actor in a realist world: The European Union regulatory power and global political economy. Oxford University Press.
  30. Goldthau, A., & Sitter, N. (2015b). A liberal actor in a realist world: The European Union regulatory state and the global political economy of energy. Oxford University Press.
  31. Güney, A., & Yılmaz, B. (2025). Institutional capacity and climate policy implementation in developing countries. Climate Policy Journal, 15(2): 112–128.
  32. Hedberg, A., & Olausson, J. (2019). The Africa-EU Energy Partnership: A critical analysis of a multilateral energy governance mechanism. Energy Policy, 132: 1239–1248.
  33. Herranz-Surrallés, A. (2016). Energy diplomacy under liberal institutionalism: The EU’s market governance in external energy relations. European Foreign Affairs Review, 21(3): 401–420.
  34. IED Institute of European Democrats. (2021). Marcu, I.-M. How can the European Union act as a normative power in the green transition? https://www.iedonline.eu International Organization, 59(4): 801–826.
  35. Keukeleire, S., & Hooijmaaijers, B. (2014). The BRICS and other emerging power alliances and multilateral organizations in the Asia-Pacific and the global South: Challenges for the European Union and its view on multilateralism. Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(3): 582–599.
  36. Knodt, M., Jørgensen, K. E., & Pécoud, A. (2015). External energy governance: The EU’s pursuit of liberalisation and security of supply. Palgrave Macmillan.
  37. Kustova, I. (2020). Normative power meets geopolitical opportunity: The EU in the external gas policy of the post-2014 period. Geopolitics, 25(3): 653–677. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2018.1507822
  38. Kustova, I. (2020b). The EU’s pursuit of energy diversification: Between market and geopolitics. Energy Policy, 140, 111426.
  39. Kuzemko, C., Goldthau, A., & Keating, M. F. (Eds.). (2019). Understanding the politics of low-carbon transitions. Palgrave Macmillan.
  40. Lavenex, S., & Schimmelfennig, F. (2011). EU democracy promotion in the neighbourhood: From leverage to governance? Democratization, 18(4): 885–909. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2011.584730
  41. Lavenex, S., & Schimmelfennig, F. (2011). The external governance of European integration: The case of the European Neighbourhood Policy. Journal of European Public Policy, 18(6): 885–904.
  42. Manners, I. (2002). Normative power Europe: A contradiction in terms? Journal of Common Market Studies, 40(2): 235–258.
  43. Manners, I. (2002). Normative power Europe: A contradiction in terms? Journal of Common Market Studies, 40(2): 235–258. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5965.00353
  44. Meunier, S., & Nicolaïdis, K. (2019). The European Union as a trade power. In C. Hill, M. Smith, & S. Vanhoonacker Eds.), International relations and the European Union (pp. 300–326). Oxford University Press.
  45. Nye, J. S. (1990). Bound to lead: The changing nature of American power. Basic Books. Nye, J. S. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. PublicAffairs.
  46. Nye, J. S. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. PublicAffairs.
  47. Oberthür, S., & Roche Kelly, C. (2008). EU leadership in international climate policy: Achievements and challenges. The International Spectator, 43(3): 35–50.
  48. Patel, M., & Ürge-Vorsatz, D. (2018). Global energy governance and Asia’s energy transition.
  49. Raimondi, P. P., et al. (2022). The external dimension of the Green Deal, between cooperation and competition. Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IAI). https://iai.it
  50. Reuters. (2025). China calls EU ‘hypocritical’ over criticism of climate goals. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/china-calls-eu-hypocritical-over-criticism-climate-goal-2025-09-26/
  51. Scholvin, S., & Wigell, M. (2018). Africa’s relations with rising powers: Strategic partnerships and yumuşak güç in energy cooperation. Third World Quarterly, 39(6): 1205–1222.
  52. Schreurs, M. A., & Tiberghien, Y. (2007). Multi-level reinforcement: Explaining European Union leadership in climate change mitigation. Global Environmental Politics, 7(4): 19–46.
  53. Schunz, S. (2022). EU foreign policy and climate change: Normative power Europe at work? Edward Elgar Publishing.
  54. Siddi, M. (2016). The European Union and climate change: From leadership to external policy. Palgrave Macmillan. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137499447
  55. Siddi, M. (2016). The European Union and climate change: From leadership to external policy. Palgrave Macmillan.
  56. Skjærseth, J. B. (2021). EU climate and energy policy: A hesitant but progressive leader. Global Environmental Politics, 21(1): 92–113.
  57. Smith, K. E. (2013). European Union foreign policy in a changing world. Polity Press.
  58. Szulecki, K. (2016). European energy governance: Power in transition. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 34(3): 552–567.
  59. Teixeira, P. (2022). Global Gateway vs. Belt and Road: Competing visions for global infrastructure.
  60. Teixeira, P. (2022). The European Union's Global Gateway: A strategic response to China's Belt and Road Initiative. Journal of European Integration, 44(1): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2022.2032345
  61. The Guardian. (2024). COP29 climate finance deal criticised as a ‘travesty of justice’. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/24/cop29-climate-finance-deal-criticised-travesty-justice-stage-managed
  62. Torney, D. (2019). EU climate leadership: From Copenhagen to Paris and beyond. In R. Wurzel, J. Connelly, & D. Liefferink (Eds.), The European Union in international climate change politics (pp. 19–36). Routledge.
  63. Treaty Establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. (1951). Paris. https://www.cvce.eu
  64. Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). (2022). Renewable energy and climate action in the Mediterranean region. https://ufmsecretariat.org
  65. Van Schaik, L., & Schunz, S. (2012). Explaining EU activism and impact in global climate politics: Is the EU a norm- or interest-driven actor? Journal of Common Market Studies, 50(1): 169–186.
  66. Volintiru, C. (2020). EU’s soft power in green diplomacy: Scaling-up consensus from subnational and national initiatives. Institute of European Democrats. https://www.iedonline.eu/publications
  67. Volintiru, C. (2020b). The EU as a global actor in energy governance. European View, 19(1): 77–85.
  68. Youngs, R. (2009). Energy security: Europe’s new foreign policy challenge. Routledge.
  69. Wikipedia. (2023). LIFE Programme. https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/LIFE_programme
  70. Wikipedia. (2025). Climate finance in Senegal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_finance_in_Senegal
  71. Youngs, R. (2009). Europe's external energy policy: Between geopolitics and the market. CEPS Policy Brief, No. 190. https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/europes-external-energy-policy-between-geopolitics-and-the-market/
  72. Youngs, R. (2009a). Europe's external energy policy: Between geopolitics and the market. CEPS Policy Brief, No. 190. https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/europes-external-energy-policy-between-geopolitics-and-the-market/
  73. Youngs, R. (2009b). Energy security: Europe’s new foreign policy challenge. Routledge.
  74. Zachmann, G., & McWilliams, B. (2020). A European carbon border tax: Much pain, little gain. Bruegel Policy Contribution, Issue 5. https://www.bruegel.org/2020/06/a-european-carbon-border-tax- much-pain-little-gain/
  75. Zhang, F., & Gallagher, K. S. (2016). Innovation and technology transfer through international development cooperation: Case study on renewable energy in China and India. Energy Policy, 94: 164–174.