Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Karen- Karadeniz Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi, cilt.11, sa.24, ss.169-186, 2025 (TRDizin)
In the post-Cold War era, as the geopolitical landscape of
Eurasia was being reshaped, the Russian Federation sought to re-es-
tablish its claim to regional leadership through both military and eco-
nomic means. In this context, one of the most effective tools of Rus-
sian foreign policy has been the energy sector. Especially following
the rise of Vladimir Putin, energy was declared a "strategic sector"
and brought under the direct control of the Russian state, with Gaz-
prom emerging as a hegemonic and directive actor. Far from being a
purely economic enterprise, Gazprom began to function as a semi-
state power centre supporting the Kremlin’s foreign policy objectives.
Focusing on Gazprom’s dual role as both a commercial entity and a
political instrument, this paper analyses the GUAM countries as a case
example within the company’s sphere of operation. The main aim of
the study is to examine the influence Gazprom exercises over GUAM
countries through economic instruments, within the framework of
Plutocratic Authority Theory. The paper seeks to answer the questions
of how Gazprom’s energy relations with the GUAM countries have
constructed a form of plutocratic authority, and how this structure
has influenced the regional political balance. Adopting a qualitative
research approach and employing critical content analysis, the study
reconceptualises Gazprom’s influence as a form of plutocratic power
and provides a theoretical explanation of the interaction between en-
ergy and politics in the GUAM context. The findings suggest that en-
ergy policy cannot be understood solely through state-centric anal-
yses, and that energy companies, by operating within a plutocratic
framework, have become influential actors in the international sys-
tem. By broadening the existing literature on energy security to in-
clude the political influence of economic power, this paper offers an
original contribution to the field.