Financialization, dependence, and state regulation: The accumulation strategies of German energy companies in Hungary

Abstract

In recent years, geographical scholarship has paid an increasing amount of attention to the accumulation strategies of energy and public utility companies. This article contributes to these debates by emphasizing the multiscalar nature of profit extraction by transnational energy companies through financialization, dependent power relations, and state regulation regarding transnational energy companies. Empirically, this article analyzes German energy companies’ activities in Hungary. These energy giants bought Hungarian gas and electricity providers, networks, and power plants during the privatization waves of the 1990s, and largely left the Hungarian market after the 2010s re-nationalization process. Previous literature emphasized nation-state agency in the Hungarian energy sector’s development. This study—based on an analysis of companies’ annual reports, media coverage, and financial statements—draws attention to firm-level strategies in understanding techniques and strategies of accumulation by German energy companies in Hungary.