Norway in the geopolitics of energy

Abstract

Petroleum production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) has made Norway a player of strategic importance for the geopolitics of energy. Particularly significant is Norway's role for energy security in European markets for natural gas, actualized by Russia's war against Ukraine. While climate concerns, as a long-term security risk in the balance between economic growth and fossil fuel emissions, are shared by Norway with most others in the Western Hemisphere, the country's significance in the geopolitics of energy presents some challenges of its own. Albeit otherwise considered small state in international affairs, in energy it has significance for more than itself. In the country, the Norwegian state and energy companies make significant revenues, while at the same time, fluctuating and occasionally high domestic electricity prices affect households and non-energy businesses, negatively. The situation puts simultaneous pressure on domestic, foreign and security policy played out on a scale and scope not previously experienced. Important questions are to which extent and how geopolitical challenges and energy security may put the country in a sensitive or vulnerable position, and, alternatively, how they may strengthen it for more opportunities and room for economic, commercial, and political maneuvering.