More from the Author

• Article | Review of International Political Economy | August 2013

  The Profits of Power: Commerce and Realpolitik in Eurasia

  Rawi Abdelal

  Although the energy trade is the single most important element of nearly all European countries' relations with Russia, Europe has been divided by both worldview and practice. Why, in the face of the common challenge of dependence on imported Russian gas, have national reactions to such vulnerability varied so dramatically across the continent? And why have a handful of French, German, and Italian corporations somehow taken responsibility for formulating the energy strategy–and thus the Russia policy–for essentially all of Europe? The resolutions of these two puzzles are, I show, interlinked; they also demand theoretical innovation. With several case studies–of Gazprom's decision making during the 2006 and 2009 gas crises and of the response of western and central Europe to their gas dependence–I find that firms are driving these political outcomes; those firms are motivated by profits but employ sociological conventions along their ways; and firms generally seek the necessary inter-firm, cross-border cooperation that will deliver corporate performance. Finally, I conclude that the field will ultimately require a framework that puts firms at its center.

  Keywords: Performance; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Profit; Framework; Corporate Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Policy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Crisis Management; Government and Politics; Energy Industry; Europe; Russia; France; Germany; Italy;

  Citation:

  Abdelal, Rawi. "The Profits of Power: Commerce and Realpolitik in Eurasia." Review of International Political Economy 20, no. 3 (August 2013): 421–456.

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• Teaching Plan | HBS Case Collection | 2013

  Latvia: Navigating the Strait of Messina (TP)

  Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella and Natalie Kindred

  Citation:

  Abdelal, Rawi, Rafael Di Tella, and Natalie Kindred. "Latvia: Navigating the Strait of Messina (TP)." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 713-010, April 2013.

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2010 version)

  Energy Security in Europe (A): Nord Stream

  Rawi E. Abdelal and Sogomon Tarontsi

  Russian and German energy firms initiated the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline project with strong political support from their home governments but encountered resistance from other states. Although the pipeline would connect Russia with Germany directly, the project was not simply a bilateral matter. First, a need to secure construction permits in multiple jurisdictions around the Baltic Sea involved other countries. And second, Germany's membership in the European Union entailed compliance with goals and values of the entire union, which stressed the imperative of collective action in energy matters and dangers of succumbing to "national reflexes." Thus the implications of the project became a matter of concern to the entire European Union but Europeans struggled to articulate the meaning of Nord Stream: was it a "separate peace" between Russia and Germany to the detriment of the rest, or was it a pan-European deal to the benefit of all? As the case chronicles, the success of Nord Stream depended on the ability of its creators to ensure that latter view prevailed over the former.

  Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Leadership; Distribution; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Energy Industry; Russia; European Union; Germany;

  Citation:

  Abdelal, Rawi E., and Sogomon Tarontsi. "Energy Security in Europe (A): Nord Stream." Harvard Business School Case 711-026, February 2013. (Revised from original November 2010 version.)

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