The politics of cross-border pipelines: Considering the resurgence of the Mongolian route for the Russia-China gas pipeline

In recent years, the prominence of cross-border energy pipelines has been well recognized because once put into operation, these pipelines reshape the regional energy landscape and geopolitical situations. However, research on cross-border pipelines is undertheorized and provides little insight into queries about how to frame the discussion on relevant variables. Compared with current structural analyses that focus on specifying the facilitating or constraining factors for cross-border pipelines, a processual examination to synthesize and theorize the relevant variables into a coherent narrative is conducted in this study. It is argued that such theoretical considerations can benefit from the multiple streams framework (MSF). The applicability of the MSF is examined in combination with the resurgence of the Mongolian route for the Russia-China gas pipeline. The analysis demonstrates that the MSF captures key features of the development path of this proposal. First, an MSF analysis synthesizes the variety of relevant variables into three categories, problem, policy, and politics, and therefore decreases analytical complexity; second, it reveals that the rising agenda prominence of this proposal hinges on the unfolding of problem and political agendas; and third, it highlights the role of political entrepreneurs in facilitating negotiations, which is sidelined by current research.