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261. Suudi Arabistan'daki Stratejik Doğal Kaynakların Önemi ve Siyaset ile Ekonomi Üzerindeki Etkisi

Author:
Muhittin Ataman and Nuh Uçgan
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
As the largest oil reserves in the world, Saudi Arabia's dependence on strategic natural resources influences not only its economy but also its domestic and foreign policies. Saudi Arabia is dependent on a single product (oil) and on a single power (the United States). The Kingdom attempts to diversify its economy and foreign policy. Upon the decrease of oil reserves and exports in the midterm, the increase of governmental spending and the rapid increase of domestic oil consumption, Saudi authorities began to search for natural gas and attempt to have nuclear energy. Due to the possibility of these attempts to change domestic, regional and global balances, the Saudi Kingdom face difficulties in recent times.
Topic:
Oil and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
United States and Saudi Arabia

262. Central Europe and the Geopolitics of Energy

Author:
Franklin D. Kramer, John R. Lyman, and Mihaela Carstei
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Energy security presents quintessential geopolitical challenges. In Central Europe, achieving energy security can be a critical element for a continent seeking to resolve vestigial Cold War complexities with Russia and toward meeting 21st century challenges including balanced economic development, energy diversity and climate change. Central Europe, utilizing both European Union support and Western European national assistance and enhanced by United States technical assistance, can take five key steps that will go far toward resolving energy security challenges and help to reframe the geopolitics of the continent.
Topic:
Security, Economics, Energy Policy, Oil, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Europe

263. China-Russia Relations

Author:
Yu Bin
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Comparative Connections
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
For most of the first quarter, “uneventful” was the best description for bilateral relations between Russia and China. This is especially true when contrasted with the high-profile events in 2009 when bilateral trade declined 31 percent from $56.8 billion to $38.8 billion, Russia sank a Chinese cargo ship in February, the energy “deal of the century” was concluded in April, Moscow's Cherkizov Market was abruptly closed in June, the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations was celebrated in October, and the China-Central Asian gas line and Russia's Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline were opened in December. Only in late March, with the five-day visit by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping to Russia, was there a return from mutual “hibernation” and an “obsession” with the Obama administration's policies, though for different reasons. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's invitation was also seen as a “back-to-the-future” effort to size up Xi, who is poised to assume the leadership spot in China by 2012. For Putin, 2012 is also the time to retake the Russian presidency, if he desires to do so.
Topic:
Oil and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Central Asia, and Moscow

264. Managing the Challenge of Russian Energy Policies

Author:
Keith C. Smith
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, the leaders of Russia, including then-President Boris Yeltsin, searched for new methods of continuing to exert influence over the former Soviet-controlled region. The Kremlin at first used an energy blockade to the Baltic States in 1990 in an attempt to prevent their breakaway from the Soviet Union. After that failed, it then focused on the growing opposition in the former republics of the Soviet Union and in East Central Europe to its foreign and economic policies, and in particular on demands that Russian military forces withdraw from the newly independent states. The Kremlin leadership quickly recognized that short of military action, its major foreign policy tool was the denial or threat of denial of access to Russia's vast oil and gas resources. The economies of East European and Central Asian countries, and especially their rail and pipeline infrastructures, had been hardwired by Soviet leaders to assure total dependency on Moscow for their raw materials, including oil, gas, coal, and nuclear fuel.
Topic:
Cold War, Economics, Emerging Markets, Energy Policy, and Oil
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Central Asia, and Soviet Union

265. How Central is Central Asia? Part 2/3

Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Harriman Institute
Abstract:
The Third Annual Russia/Eurasia Forum: How Central is Central Asia? Sponsored by the Harriman Institute, Columbia University, and the Kathryn W. and Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Oil, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Russia, Central Asia, and Eurasia

266. The Taiwan Dilemma: China, Japan, and the Strait Dynamic

Author:
Jason J. Blazevic
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Many Chinese and Japanese authorities believe Taiwan is essential to their respective states' national security due to the island's geographic centrality and beneficial proximity to nearby and distant sea lanes. Of further importance is Taiwan's immediacy to territorial and resource disputes between China and Japan. This article focuses on the security concerns and strategies of both states and applies realism, its tenets of defensive and offensive realism, and neoliberalism in order to better comprehend those concerns and strategies and also provide probable solutions.
Topic:
Oil
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Taiwan

267. Russia's Oil Exports: Economic Rationale Versus Strategic Gains

Author:
Adnan Vatansever
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Russia, the world's largest oil producer, is vigorously promoting the development of new outlets for oil exports. While the recent launch of a long-awaited cross-border oil pipeline between Russia and China has received most of the publicity, it is a part of a much larger Russian initiative aimed at developing new oil export infrastructure in almost every possible direction: Asia, the Baltic Sea region, the Black Sea region, and the Arctic. This export strategy will have considerable policy and economic implications for Eastern and Central Europe and even the United States.
Topic:
Economics, Energy Policy, Markets, and Oil
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

268. Energy Innovation Policy in Major Emerging Countries

Author:
Ruud Kempener
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Over the past decade, the six BRIMCS countries— Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, China, and South Africa—have become important global players in political and economic domains. In 2007, they were collectively responsible for a third of the world's energy consumption, driven by China's growing energy use. Despite their increasing significance in the world's energy sector, very little systematic analysis of their energy investments, innovation institutions, and energy innovation policies has taken place. The International Energy Agency (IEA) is one of the few agencies that have been collecting data on ERD investments, but none of the BRIMCS countries are members.
Topic:
Emerging Markets, Energy Policy, Oil, and Natural Resources
Political Geography:
Russia, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico

269. Fracture Lines: Will Canada's Water Be Protected in the Rush to Develop Gas?

Author:
Ben Parfitt
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto
Abstract:
On October 14, 2010, POWI released a discussion paper and held a conference on Fracture Lines: Will Canada’s Water Be Protected in the Rush to Develop Shale Gas? The conference and the discussion paper were the first major formal public discussion in Canada of the shale gas issue. As supplies of fossil fuel dwindle, oil and gas companies are increasingly looking to unconventional sources such as shale gas to supply energy needs. The Fracture Lines paper outlined the potential impacts of shale gas exploration and production on groundwater resources, and described the paucity of groundwater mapping and lack of effective regulatory oversight. With possible shale gas deposits in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick and a loud public outcry against shale gas drilling in Quebec, the conference attracted a wealth of attention. Because of its availability in both languages and its timeliness, the conference received extensive media coverage and over 500 logins to the webcast. In the wake of the conference, the research contained in the Fracture Lines report was determined to be a major factor in the decision to expand the terms of reference for a Parliamentary Committee studying offshore drilling issues in Canada. The Committee opted to include shale gas in its deliberations. The issue of how to protect groundwater resources from the impacts of shale gas exploration continues to be a burning issue, across Canada and around the world.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Oil, Water, and Gas
Political Geography:
Canada and North America

270. Piracy - threat or nuisance?

Author:
Alessandro Schieffler
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Aspate of high-profile hijackings over the New Year and the publication of the 2009 Annual Piracy Report issued by the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre in mid-January have brought the piracy problem back on stage. Despite the employment of naval forces from the European Union, NATO and various nations in counter-piracy and counter-terrorism missions, the figures for 2009 are alarming: according to reports, from 2008 to 2009 piracy grew by almost 40%. It is not only since pirates captured the Sirius Star, a tanker carrying about 25% of Saudi Arabia's daily oil production, that we have also started to worry about the possible economic damage caused by these piratical activities: about 95% of all world trade is handled by maritime transport, with the shipping business itself accounting for 5% of global GDP. About 50,000 vessels are employed, most of them passing through bottlenecks such as the Gulf of Aden or the Malacca Straits, and therefore are exposed to attacks from ashore. Fears about the high economic cost of piracy seem therefore all too justified.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Oil, Terrorism, Maritime Commerce, and Piracy
Political Geography:
Europe