DEFENSE OF DOCTORAL DISSERTATION ON THE DIPLOMATIC DIMENSION OF BATTLE FOR PETROLEUM

After completing doctoral studies, Sinisa Pokos, doctorand from Zagreb, defended at our university, the dissertation on the topic “The Role of Economic Diplomacy in Strategic Takeover of Oil Companies of South East Europe”. The mentor to this doctorate was prof. Vladimir Prvulovic Phd, professor at the Geoeconomic Faculty. The Defense Committee, in addition to the mentor, was a professor Biljana Stojanovic Phd, and professor Dragana Novakovic Phd, who assessed this doctoral work as exceptional, very relevant and important for this field of cooperation in European frameworks.

The new doctor of economic sciences was very critical in the work, especially with regard to the EU’s dispute over the energy strategy and the conflict between the US and its supporters and Germany over the construction and start of the exploitation of the North Stream 2 gas pipeline: “It is very easy to conclude that part of the great game and the latest American geopolitical initiative “Three Must”, which many claim to be an Atlantic “trojan horse”, aimed at undermining the dominant influence of Germany and France within the EU. In addition to Poland, the key role in the new US strategy towards Europe and Russia belongs to Croatia. The alignment of the energy policies of the twelve countries that are entering the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Sea is aimed at suppressing Gazprom and Russian gas from the Central and Eastern European markets, where the construction of the LNG terminal in Poland and Croatia is crucial for the delivery of more expensive US gas “, says this doctoral student.

In this paper he analyzed separately the acquisitions of oil companies and new reorganization in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, in light of the appetites of large world oil companies. The dissertation points to many hidden dangers, as well as possible variants of the solution of the future energy strategy in this region. Asked why he defended a doctorate at a Serbian private university, he emphasized that the subject of Economic Diplomacy does not exist at universities in Croatia.

Therefore, educational cooperation between Croatia and Serbia is possible and desirable not only for a better understanding of the situation in the world energy policy.