EU foreign policy and energy strategy: bounded contestation

The external dimensions of energy security are subject to distinctive forms of contestation within the European Union (EU). Contestation related to the external dimensions of energy strategy is significant, but bounded. EU institutions and member states have contained contestation in at least some areas of external energy strategy, through both de-politicization dynamics and new mechanisms of horizontal coordination. The article demonstrates and explains such bounded contestation in three areas of EU international policies: security of supply, climate security and wider security challenges. It explains the different logics that underpin the management of divergence, and relates these to analytical debates over EU foreign and security policy. The article stresses the importance of understanding how contestation over energy policy is nested within a broader set of geopolitical imperatives.