Power Struggles

This book explores East Asia’s and the Asia Pacific’s energy security exploring key issues including major trans-border energy projects, major country’s energy mix policy, trans- border pipelines, LNG transfer between nations, balance of power relations between major powers, the North Korean energy situation, energy alliances, Belt and Road Initiative, Indo-Pacific Strategy, World Choke point and more. In particular, this book provides the detailed analysis of the current problems of energy security and diplomacy among various countries as well as policy implications. It will clearly serve as a manual to enhance energy security in the region and boost energy transaction as well as the pioneering step to conceptualize the notion of energy security among political circles, in the diplomatic community and energy industry as well as international relations academics.

“Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has brought misery and tragedy in untold ways. In the cascading energy shortages in Europe and around the globe, the war also serves to mark the return of power politics to international energy affairs. Professor Se Hyun Ahn’s most recent volume, Power Struggles: Energy security and energy diplomacy in the Asia Pacific, a deeply researched and timely consideration of the full range of energy security topics in Asia, serves the critical purposes of providing in-depth detail about the energy needs of Asia while also providing incisive analysis about what the international energy security environment will bear. Ahn concludes that the role of natural gas is ascendant, as an integral component of a successful energy transition and as a means for Asia’s democracies to deepen their partnerships with each other in the face of autocratic pressures. In particular, Professor Ahn judges that a US-ROK Alliance committed to effective energy security will make a huge difference. A must-read for specialists but accessible for generalists, Power Struggles is the right book for these confounding times.” (Roy D. Kamphausen, President, The National Bureau of Asian Research (USA))

“This wide-ranging book is a must-read for any student of energy security in Northeast Asia.  Dr. Ahn provides a wealth of information that maps existing and potential energy networks from Russia through the Korean peninsula. The chapter on energy security and the US-ROK alliance speaks to how much supply chain resilience has become a critical mission of the alliance. An excellent read for scholars and policymakers.” (Victor Cha, Vice Dean and D.S. Song-KF Professor of Government, Georgetown University and Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. (USA))

“Professor Se Hyun Ahn has provided timely, thoughtful, and comprehensive analysis of complex energy security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. I highly recommend his book to those seeking to understand the interaction of energy policy, and diplomacy for energy security in a dynamic region where the growing demand for energy has profound implications for the international political economy and security.” (Charles W. Boustany, Jr., Member of U.S. Congress, 2005-2017)

“In this deeply-researched book, Se Hyun Ahn explores the challenges of the energy security environment in the Asia Pacific region as it eyes both conventional and renewable energy possibilities. As geopolitical tensions among the three great powers—China, Russia and the United States—are on the rise in Northeast Asia, the future for both military and energy security is uncertain, demanding creative solutions for this new reality. Angela Stent, author of Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and with the Rest, and senior adviser to the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and professor emerita of government and foreign service at Georgetown University. She is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-chairs its Hewett Forum on Post-Soviet Affairs. Covering a wide range of energy security and foreign policy considerations surrounding the Korean Peninsula, Dr. Ahn’s book provides highly valuable insights into how energy and the great power politics intersect in Northeast Asia. The details of major energy relations and projects in the region make it an excellent read for anyone who seeks to better appreciate the implications of the evolving energy geopolitics for Northeast Asia, particularly in light of the invasion Ukraine by Russia, a major energy supplier and a key geopolitical player in the world.” (Jane Nakano, Senior Fellow, Energy Security and Climate Change Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (USA))

Se Hyun Ahn is Professor of the Department of International Relations and the Director of the Center for Energy Security Strategic Studies in the University of Seoul.