Publication Date

Spring 2025

Abstract

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the former satellite states of Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary, together known as the Visegrad group, have found themselves at a geopolitical crossroads. After gaining independence, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia quickly ascended to pan-European alliances such as the European Union (EU) North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), dealing a geopolitical blow to Russia and setting the region up for integration with greater European geoeconomic grand strategy. Recent political movements in all four countries questioning Western leadership have imperiled one of the European Union’s signature long-term geoeconomic programs: reducing the continent’s reliance on fossil fuels. The phaseout of fossil fuels is incredibly important for the overall health and well-being of humanity on Earth. Climate-related disasters have inflicted over $3.6 trillion in damage since 2000, with risks accelerating from continued inaction. If status-quo emissions continue, the world will lose millions of lives and up to 22% of global GDP by 2100 (World Economic Forum & Boston Consulting Group, 2024). U.S. President Donald Trump’s isolationist foreign policy has rattled the EU, throwing the progress of American-backed programs in jeopardy. A fragmented, security-conscious European Union could turn more conservative, choosing not to pursue the ambitious and expensive environmental projects needed to bolster the region’s progress in the energy transition. This study will view the energy profile of central-eastern Europe through the lens of geopolitics, utilize the “energy trilemma” framework to explain the progress made thus far in transitioning the region to renewable energy, and analyze potential financial, social, and geopolitical hurdles to completing the energy transition in the Visegrad region.

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

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