Project Details
Projekt
Energy Transitions in Eurasian (Post)Empires: Russia and Turkey in Comparative Perspective
Applicant
Professor Dr. Theocharis Grigoriadis
Subject Area
Economic Policy, Applied Economics
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 543294515
This research project examines the dynamics of energy discovery and transition in the post-imperial Eurasian space through a comparative analysis of Russia and Turkey. It explores how the discovery and transformation of energy sources—especially oil, nuclear power, and renewables—have shaped state-building, economic development, and foreign policy strategies in these two countries. The comparison is grounded in the countries’ shared history as multiethnic empires (Russian and Ottoman) and their strategic use of energy resources as instruments of modernization and control. The project adopts an interdisciplinary approach, integrating economic, historical, and political science methodologies. The research is structured into two main work packages. In Work Package 1 (Doctoral Dissertation), the economic and institutional consequences of early oil discoveries in the Russian and Ottoman Empires are investigated. Key foci include 1. The discovery and exploitation of oil in the Caspian Sea by the Nobel Brothers, and its impact on the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and modern Azerbaijan, 2. The exploration of oil in northern Iraq and its influence on the late Ottoman Empire, Republican Turkey and Iraq, 3. The hypothesis that energy discoveries constitute foundational energy transitions, crucial for both imperial and post-imperial state formation and economic performance. Empirical evidence is drawn from qualitative and quantitative data collected in the Ottoman archives in Istanbul, the Azeri archives in Baku, and geocoded socio-economic datasets. In Work Package 2 (Principal Investigator) the role of nuclear energy and renewable energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric) as alternative resource strategies in contemporary Central Asia (Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) and Turkey are analyzed. Work Package 2 evaluates the socio-economic impacts of renewables in Turkey through statistical analysis and game-theoretic modeling. Furthermore, it examines Russia’s nuclear sector as a tool of geopolitical influence and technology externalization in the post-Soviet space and it reflects on the tensions between regional development and cultural/ecosystem preservation, particularly in the Turkish context. The project connects historical energy transitions with contemporary policy challenges, offering an innovative contribution to the fields of comparative energy economics, resource policy, and the political economy of post-imperial Eurasia.
DFG Programme
Research Units
International Connection
Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan
