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42. Africa: The United States and China Court the Continent
- Author:
- David H. Shinn
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of International Affairs
- Institution:
- School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
- Abstract:
- The United States and China are the two most important bilateral, external actors in Africa today. While the United States wields more influence in most of Africa's fifty-three countries, China has surpassed it in a number of states and is challenging it in others. Both countries look to Africa as an increasingly significant source of raw materials, especially oil. China, more than the United States, views Africa from a long-term strategic perspective. Both countries seek political and economic support in international forums from African countries, which constitute more than a quarter of the membership of the United Nations. The interests of the United States and China in Africa are more similar than dissimilar. There will inevitably be some competition over access to African natural resources and political support, but there are even greater opportunities for cooperation that can benefit African nations.
- Topic:
- Oil and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, and China
43. China-Korea Relations Chronology
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- No abstract is available.
- Topic:
- Oil
- Political Geography:
- China, Beijing, and Korea
44. Regional energy security: An elusive objective?
- Author:
- Stuart Harris
- Publication Date:
- 08-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Australian National University Department of International Relations
- Abstract:
- Energy issues are a central feature of economic and political debate. The debate focuses not only on the growing regional energy demands from China and India, but also on the cyclical and structural factors in the international energy market that are significant and that lead to considerable uncertainties about energy accessibility, prices and supply reliability. For the Asian region, considerations of supply security are increasingly part of global energy security concerns. The global debate about long-term resource availability and supply, particularly of oil and gas, centres on the questions of whether adequate resources will exist to meet growing global demands in the next twenty-plus years, or whether the resources are adequate but will not be brought to market because of underinvestment and related higher costs in the oil and gas industry. Options for alternative supply sources and alternative fuels are, at the same time, becoming constrained by concerns about the impacts on climate change and, in the case of biofuels, on food and feed supplies. Adjustments to the expected continuing increases in energy trend prices will be generally difficult for developed countries, including Australia, but especially so for developing countries including those in Asia.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Markets, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- China, India, Asia, Australia, and Australia/Pacific
45. China and the Future of the Developing World: The Coming Global-Asian Era and its Consequences
- Author:
- Jeffrey Henderson
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The rise of China as an economic and political 'driver' of the global economy is likely to be one of the defining moments of world history. Its dynamism and international expansion are on the verge of creating a 'critical disruption' in the global order that has held sway for over 60 years. As such, China is beginning to reshape the world, presaging a new phase of globalization: a 'global-Asian era'. This new era is likely to be distinct from any of the earlier phases of globalization and China's global footprint, in terms of its business, economic and political actions and their geopolitical implications, is likely to be markedly different from what has gone before. This paper offers a framework by which we can begin to understand the coming global-Asian era (GAE) and some of its consequences, particularly as the latter are surfacing in the developing world. Having discussed the nature and dynamics of the GAE, the paper turns to sketch a series of vectors (trade, aid and energy security) along which the GAE is beginning to impact on developing countries. The paper argues that, at least for these vectors, the Chinese-driven GAE is providing opportunities as well as dangers for national development projects. It concludes by briefly speculating on the viability of the GAE.
- Topic:
- Development, Globalization, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- China and Asia
46. Middle East Perspectives: Conference Proceedings from Gstaad, Switzerland
- Author:
- Shai Feldman, Shahram Chubin, Abdulaziz Sager, and David L. Aaron
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- The Middle East and its security remains a vital ingredient in international security. The region's tensions, conflicts and stability are of fundamental concern to a wide range of actors, whose interests or proximity make it a priority. The novelty today is the increasing inter-relations of these conflicts and instability and the limitations of outside power influence. This, together with the appearance of new actors in the region, namely India and China, seems likely to transform diplomacy in the future. Regional dynamics, which are increasingly resistant to outside power influence or control, continue to shape the strategic environment. These dynamic forces, ranging from terrorism, sectarianism, and on-going conflicts, intersect and add to the region's instability and fragmentation. The conflict zone (from the Levant to Iran) overlaps the “energy ellipse” (in the Gulf), that is, the dependence of much of the world on this region for energy supplies. Superimposed on this is the related feature of the region, namely the emergence in the GCC of the 'super rich' states, carving out a new niche and economic identity with their newfound wealth. The region is thus complex: unstable, vulnerable, and wealthy in parts. Weak, shattered, or embryonic states (Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine) co-exist with strong states like Egypt, cautious ones like Saudi Arabia, and ambitious ones, notably Iran. What seems clear from the perspective of 2008 is the continuing need for international engagement, combined with a recognition that this engagement must be constructive and cannot substitute for local initiatives or substitute for local forces, which at best, can only be harnessed, not controlled.
- Topic:
- Security, Ethnic Conflict, Oil, and War
- Political Geography:
- China, Iraq, Middle East, India, Palestine, Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Egypt
47. From Hegemony to New Geopolitical Competition: Assessing Russia's Strategic Footprint In Central Asia
- Author:
- Igor Torbakov
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Russia's conduct in the post-Soviet space in general and its policies toward Central Asia in particular should be seen within the context of Russia's post-imperial readjustment. The notion of the sphere of “privileged interests” currently advanced by the Kremlin is a clear indication that Russia's search for a new modus operandi with its ex-Soviet neighbours is a painful and, essentially, an open-ended process. Moscow views Central Asia as an area of great strategic importance as it presents both considerable opportunities (due to the region's rich energy resources) and serious threats (stemming from the region's inherent instability and its proximity to volatile Afghanistan). Russia's key interests in Central Asia appear to be preservation of the region's stability, strengthening control over the region's energy resources, and balancing other major actors that are increasing their presence in the region – the United States and China. The effectiveness of the Kremlin's policies in Central Asia seems to be constrained by the nature of Russia's current socio-political system whose key features are authoritarianism and rent-seeking. The latter prompts Moscow to act as a conservative rather than reformist force in the region. Russia's goal of maintaining strategic pre-eminence in Central Asia underpinned by Moscow's significantly increased economic and political clout may ultimately not be realized. The odds are that, given the rise of China, Russia may prove to be a weaker competitor. The European Union's strategic interests increasingly compel the bloc to engage the Central Asian nations, particularly in the spheres of energy and security. Eventually, Russia's wariness of China's growing economic and political clout might prompt Moscow to seek deeper cooperation with Brussels in Central Asia.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, Asia, and Moscow
48. Geopolitics of Energy: China and the Central Asia
- Author:
- Xin Ma and Mehmet Öğütçü
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Energy-deficit China and resourceful Russia/Central Asia have been engaged most intensely over the past decade in a complex relationship involving expanded oil and gas trade, cross investment, pipelines and geopolitical ambitions. Today, Central Asia represents for China both a potential market for its growing economy and a source of strategically important raw materials. It is also important for ensuring stability and security in China's restless Xinjiang- Uyghur Autonomous region on the other side of the border. The verdict is not out yet, but clearly China has made significant progress in achieving its goals vis-Ã -vis Central Asia, namely (i) support regional stability, (ii) obtain access to energy resources on a mutually beneficial basis, and (iii) further develop economic relations with region. The Russia factor is omnipresent and swings from confrontation to co-operation as national interests and regional politics dictate.
- Topic:
- Oil
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, and Central Asia
49. Oil development in Africa: Lessons for Sudan after the comprehensive peace agreement
- Author:
- Luke Patey
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- In 1999, Sudan shipped its first barrel of oil to the international market. It did so with one civil war painfully continuing between the Khartoum government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army, unrest threatening the petroleum pathway along the pipeline route in the East, and a growing conflict in the western province of Darfur. This was not a rare occurrence in Africa. Nigeria and Angola had experienced the paradoxical duality of the economic progression of oil development; a one-sided affair simply benefiting the ruling elite, while the majority of the population suffered civil war and unrelenting poverty. However, unlike previous cases of the 'resource curse' in Africa, what seems to be a growing trend took shape in Sudan with the engagement of Asian investors, particularly China, in the development of its oil industry. While Asian investment initially took place alongside Western oil companies, state-owned enterprises from China, Malaysia, and India later came to dominate the sector. Nonetheless, whether this investment will deviate from the historical norm of fuelling civil war and underdevelopment has yet to be seen.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Civil War, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Sudan, Darfur, Malaysia, India, Nigeria, Angola, and Khartoum
50. The New Energy Security: 2005 Global Oil and Gas Forum
- Author:
- John A. Riggs
- Publication Date:
- 01-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Aspen Institute
- Abstract:
- Energy security means different things to different countries. Importing countries primarily focus on supply. Since the oil price shocks of the 1970s, the focus of energy security has been on achieving adequate supplies at reasonable prices, without incurring serious disruptions. Recent high prices have intensified this concern and renewed interest in policies to bring prices down.
- Topic:
- Security, Energy Policy, and Oil
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Europe, Middle East, India, Asia, and Saudi Arabia