Nabucco: A game of politics

The aim of this thesis is to find out why the European Commission was unsuccessful in the realisation of the Nabucco project. To do so, this thesis uses the theoretical frameworks of liberal intergovernmentalism and multi-level governance approach which help the research-er to identify which factors matter and which do not to the case. This thesis further tests the explanatory power of these two theories to Nabucco by conducting a congruence analysis. The focus of this research is placed on the states’ preference formation along the interests of the actors involved: the EU institutions, the shareholders, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Based on this analysis, this thesis concludes that the theory of intergovernmentalism better explains the failure of the European Commission in successfully launching Nabucco.