This thesis aims to assess the EU’s external energy policy and to what degree it has been embraced by small states during the energy crisis by posing the question, “How does European Union membership influence the external energy policy decisions of small states within the foreign policy dimension during energy security crises?”. To answer this, the research is taking Bulgaria and Serbia as case studies due to their similar population sizes, GDP, and energy consumptions. This research conceptualizes energy security and energy diplomacy to understand how diplomacy and energy dependencies are interrelated and how this relationship can be utilised as a tool in international relations. Through supporting the qualitative work on foreign policy analysis with the quantitative analysis of the energy industry structures and energy dependencies of Serbia and Bulgaria in a comparative manner, this research is conducting mixed research on the issue. The comparison of Bulgaria and Serbia enables the author to analyse and understand the role of EU membership.
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