“The better we are connected, the stronger is our resilience”: Energy framing and securitisation in the Baltic Assembly 2013–2023

This study examines how energy policy is framed in official documents adopted by the Baltic Assembly between 2013 and 2023. Using qualitative content analysis and securitisation theory, the study analyses 22 documents, resolutions and joint statements adopted by the Baltic Assembly, to trace how energy framing evolved in response to geopolitical developments, particularly Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The findings reveal that energy is framed through coexisting economic, sustainability and security perspectives throughout the examined time period, with security framing becoming increasingly prominent after geopolitical developments such as 2014 and 2022. This shift reflects a process of securitisation in which energy is progressively constructed as a matter of regional vulnerability and resilience, primarily through the protection of critical infrastructure and system interdependence rather than explicit rhetoric. Remarkably, rather than displacing sustainability objectives for security imperatives, heightened securitisation after 2022 reconfigures them, positioning the green transition as a strategic response to geopolitical threat. That is, reducing Russian energy dependency by investing in renewable energy serves both climate and security objectives simultaneously.