Russia in a Changing World

Russia in a Changing World

Author: Glenn Diesen

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-04-16

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 9811518955

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This book explores Russia’s efforts towards both adapting to and shaping a world in transformation. Russia has been largely marginalized in the post-Cold War era and has struggled to find its place in the world, which means that the chaotic changes in the world present Russia with both threats and opportunities. The rapid shift in the international distribution of power and emergence of a multipolar world disrupts the existing order, although it also enables Russia to diversify it partnerships and restore balance. Adapting to these changes involves restructuring its economy and evolving the foreign policy. The crises in liberalism, environmental degradation, and challenge to state sovereignty undermine political and economic stability while also widening Russia’s room for diplomatic maneuvering. This book analyzes how Russia interprets these developments and its ability to implement the appropriate responses.


Russian Oil Companies in an Evolving World

Russian Oil Companies in an Evolving World

Author: Indra Overland

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2020-08-28

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1788978013

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This book examines Russia’s capacity to respond to a changing world through the lens of the country’s oil industry. Against a backdrop of social, political and climatic change, Indra Overland and Nina Poussenkova present a systematic analysis of how modern energy developments in the form of shale oil, offshore oil and the global energy transition are handled.


Russian Energy in a Changing World

Russian Energy in a Changing World

Author: Jakub M. Godzimirski

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-23

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1317060369

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For a long time Russia’s position as a key global energy player has enhanced Moscow’s international economic and political influence whilst causing concern amongst other states fearful of becoming too dependent on Russia as an energy supplier. The Global Financial Crisis shook this established image of Russia as an indispensable energy superpower, immune to negative external influences and revealed the full extent of Russia’s dependence on oil and gas for economic and political influence. This led to calls from within the country for a new approach where energy resources were no longer regarded wholly as an asset, but also a potential curse resulting in an over reliance on one sector thwarting modernization of the economy and the country as a whole. In this fascinating and timely volume leading Russian and Western scholars examine various aspects of Russian energy policy and the opportunities and constraints that influence the choices made by the country’s energy decision makers. Contributors focus on Russia’s energy relations with the rest of the world alongside internal debates about the need for diversification and modernisation in a changing economy, country and world system where overdependence on energy commodities has become a key concern for customer and supplier alike.


Klimat

Klimat

Author: Thane Gustafson

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2021-10-12

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0674247434

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A discerning analysis of the future effects of climate change on Russia, the major power most dependent on the fossil fuel economy. Russia will be one of the countries most affected by climate change. No major power is more economically dependent on the export of hydrocarbons; at the same time, two-thirds of RussiaÕs territory lies in the arctic north, where melting permafrost is already imposing growing damage. Climate change also brings drought and floods to RussiaÕs south, threatening the countryÕs agricultural exports. Thane Gustafson predicts that, over the next thirty years, climate change will leave a dramatic imprint on Russia. The decline of fossil fuel use is already underway, and restrictions on hydrocarbons will only tighten, cutting fuel prices and slashing RussiaÕs export revenues. Yet Russia has no substitutes for oil and gas revenues. The country is unprepared for the worldwide transition to renewable energy, as Russian leaders continue to invest the national wealth in oil and gas while dismissing the promise of post-carbon technologies. Nor has the state made efforts to offset the direct damage that climate change will do inside the country. Optimists point to new opportunitiesÑhigher temperatures could increase agricultural yields, the melting of arctic ice may open year-round shipping lanes in the far north, and Russia could become a global nuclear-energy supplier. But the eventual post-Putin generation of Russian leaders will nonetheless face enormous handicaps, as their country finds itself weaker than at any time in the preceding century. Lucid and thought-provoking, Klimat shows how climate change is poised to alter the global order, potentially toppling even great powers from their perches.


Russian Energy Power and Foreign Relations

Russian Energy Power and Foreign Relations

Author: Jeronim Perovic

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2009-02-20

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 1134013752

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This book examines Russia's new assertiveness and the role of energy as a key factor in shaping the country's behavior in international relations, and in building political and economic power domestically, since the 1990s. Energy transformed Russia's fortunes after its decline during the 1990s. The wealth generated from energy exports sparked economic recovery and political stabilization, and has significantly contributed to Russia's assertiveness as a great power. Energy has been a key factor in shaping Russia's foreign relations in both the Eurasian and global context. This development raises a host of questions for both Russia and the West about the stability of the Russian economy, how Russia will use the power it gains from its energy wealth, and how the West should react to Russia's new-found political weight. Given that energy is likely to remain at the top of the global political agenda for some time to come, and Russia's role as a key energy supplier to Europe is unlikely to diminish soon, this book sheds light on one of the key security concerns of the 21st century: where is Russia headed and how does energy affect the changing dynamics of Russia's relations with Europe, the US and the Asia-Pacific region. This book will be of interest to students of Russian politics, energy security, international relations and foreign policy in general. Jeronim Perovic is a senior researcher at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich. Robert Orttung is a visiting scholar at the Center for Security Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich and a senior fellow at the Jefferson Institute. Andreas Wenger is professor of international security policy and director of the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich.


Russian Electricity and Energy Investment Law

Russian Electricity and Energy Investment Law

Author: Anatole Boute

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2015-08-11

Total Pages: 803

ISBN-13: 9004203281

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Electricity supply plays a strategic role for Russia’s economic development and for social peace. As a main consumer of natural gas, electricity is also of central importance for the efficient management of Russia’s energy resource basis. Today, however, the electricity sector is in an obsolete condition. Investments are needed in the modernization of the infrastructure. This book analyzes the liberalization and privatization program that Russia is implementing to attract private investments in this modernization process. Taking a comparative approach, this analysis critically assesses Russian electricity law in the light of the European liberalization experience. Given the strategic importance of electricity, investors face significant risks of government intervention. This book identifies these regulatory risks and examines investment protection mechanisms under Russia’s national and international investment obligations.


Global Energy Politics

Global Energy Politics

Author: Thijs Van de Graaf

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2020-05-07

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1509530517

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Ever since the Industrial Revolution energy has been a key driver of world politics. From the oil crises of the 1970s to today’s rapid expansion of renewable energy sources, every shift in global energy patterns has important repercussions for international relations. In this new book, Thijs Van de Graaf and Benjamin Sovacool uncover the intricate ways in which our energy systems have shaped global outcomes in four key areas of world politics: security, the economy, the environment and global justice. Moving beyond the narrow geopolitical focus that has dominated much of the discussion on global energy politics, they also deftly trace the connections between energy, environmental politics, and community activism. The authors argue that we are on the cusp of a global energy shift that promises to be no less transformative for the pursuit of wealth and power in world politics than the historical shifts from wood to coal and from coal to oil. This ongoing energy transformation will not only upend the global balance of power; it could also fundamentally transfer political authority away from the nation state, empowering citizens, regions and local communities. Global Energy Politics will be an essential resource for students of the social sciences grappling with the major energy issues of our times.


The Bridge

The Bridge

Author: Thane Gustafson

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2020-01-07

Total Pages: 521

ISBN-13: 0674987950

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A Marginal Revolution Best Book of the Year Winner of the Shulman Book Prize A noted expert on Russian energy argues that despite Europe’s geopolitical rivalries, natural gas and deals based on it unite Europe’s nations in mutual self-interest. Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet empire, the West faces a new era of East–West tensions. Any vision of a modern Russia integrated into the world economy and aligned in peaceful partnership with a reunited Europe has abruptly vanished. Two opposing narratives vie to explain the strategic future of Europe, one geopolitical and one economic, and both center on the same resource: natural gas. In The Bridge, Thane Gustafson, an expert on Russian oil and gas, argues that the political rivalries that capture the lion’s share of media attention must be viewed alongside multiple business interests and differences in economic ideologies. With a dense network of pipelines linking Europe and Russia, natural gas serves as a bridge that unites the region through common interests. Tracking the economic and political role of natural gas through several countries—Russia and Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway—The Bridge details both its history and its likely future. As Gustafson suggests, there are reasons for optimism, but whether the “gas bridge” can ultimately survive mounting geopolitical tensions and environmental challenges remains to be seen.


The Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transition

The Geopolitics of the Global Energy Transition

Author: Manfred Hafner

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-06-09

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 3030390667

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The world is currently undergoing an historic energy transition, driven by increasingly stringent decarbonisation policies and rapid advances in low-carbon technologies. The large-scale shift to low-carbon energy is disrupting the global energy system, impacting whole economies, and changing the political dynamics within and between countries. This open access book, written by leading energy scholars, examines the economic and geopolitical implications of the global energy transition, from both regional and thematic perspectives. The first part of the book addresses the geopolitical implications in the world’s main energy-producing and energy-consuming regions, while the second presents in-depth case studies on selected issues, ranging from the geopolitics of renewable energy, to the mineral foundations of the global energy transformation, to governance issues in connection with the changing global energy order. Given its scope, the book will appeal to researchers in energy, climate change and international relations, as well as to professionals working in the energy industry.


Russian Energy Chains

Russian Energy Chains

Author: Margarita M. Balmaceda

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2021-05-11

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 023155219X

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Russia’s use of its vast energy resources for leverage against post-Soviet states such as Ukraine is widely recognized as a threat. Yet we cannot understand this danger without also understanding the opportunity that Russian energy represents. From corruption-related profits to transportation-fee income to subsidized prices, many within these states have benefited by participating in Russian energy exports. To understand Russian energy power in the region, it is necessary to look at the entire value chain—including production, processing, transportation, and marketing—and at the full spectrum of domestic and external actors involved, from Gazprom to regional oligarchs to European Union regulators. This book follows Russia’s three largest fossil-fuel exports—natural gas, oil, and coal—from production in Siberia through transportation via Ukraine to final use in Germany in order to understand the tension between energy as threat and as opportunity. Margarita M. Balmaceda reveals how this dynamic has been a key driver of political development in post-Soviet states in the period between independence in 1991 and Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. She analyzes how the physical characteristics of different types of energy, by shaping how they can be transported, distributed, and even stolen, affect how each is used—not only technically but also politically. Both a geopolitical travelogue of the journey of three fossil fuels across continents and an incisive analysis of technology’s role in fossil-fuel politics and economics, this book offers new ways of thinking about energy in Eurasia and beyond.