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Book Reviews Economics Energy & Environment North America Policy & Politics

Review: Robert Vitalis’ Oilcraft: The Myths of Scarcity and Security that Haunt U.S. Energy Policy

Of all the myths and fabrications that exist in political discourse, few are more stubbornly persistent than the scarcity of resources and the policies supposedly needed to control them. Today, that discourse has converged around one definitive commodity: oil. The omnipresence of oil in the modern economy is eclipsed only by the persistent belief in […]

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Governance & Law North America Policy & Politics Security & Conflict

The United States Should Revive the Arctic Executive Steering Committee

The United States has set its sights on the Arctic as an emerging region of importance for US national security. In the past two years alone, the Department of Defense,[1] Department of Homeland Security,[2] Army,[3] Air Force,[4] Navy,[5] and Coast Guard[6] have all updated their Arctic strategies. High-level Trump administration officials like former National Security […]

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Asia Pacific Energy & Environment Governance & Law

China’s Coal-to-Gas Program: A Developing Environmental Governance Regime

Despite the increasing centralization of China under Xi Jinping, SAIS student Yujin Zhang uses the example of China’s Coal-to-Gas program to show that principal-agent problems and competing interests between Beijing and local governments still negatively affect environmental policy implementation. Effective environmental policies require long-term institutional reforms, not short term campaign-style enforcement.

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Energy & Environment Europe

Can Russia Maintain European Demand of Natural Gas in a Changing World?

In this article, author Joniel Cha investigates current trends in Russian natural gas production and exports, focusing on its role in the European energy markets. He analyzes how Russia uses natural gas production for its geopolitical strategy, the policies of different European countries, the effects of external shocks, and other strengths and weaknesses of the Russian gas sector to assess its future as supplier to Europe.

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Asia Pacific Civil Society Economics Energy & Environment North America

Populism in Retreat? Energy Liberalization and Reform in Mexico and Saudi Arabia – Part II

In this two-part series, authors Seth Clare and Samer Mosis explore how low oil prices spurred energy reforms in Mexico and Saudi Arabia, and provided them with an incidental vaccine to the populist contagion infecting more diversified, developed economies. While such reforms will likely be painful for many in the short-term, they concede that the long-term economic growth these changes will support are well worth their costs.

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Asia Pacific Civil Society Economics Energy & Environment North America

Populism in Retreat? Energy Liberalization and Reform in Mexico and Saudi Arabia – Part I

In this two-part series, authors Seth Clare and Samer Mosis explore how low oil prices spurred energy reforms in Mexico and Saudi Arabia, and provided them with an incidental vaccine to the populist contagion infecting more diversified, developed economies. While such reforms will likely be painful for many in the short-term, they concede that the long-term economic growth these changes will support are well worth their costs.

Categories
Energy & Environment Governance & Law

Meeting Growing Demand for Water, Energy, and Food with the “Nexus” Approach

SAIS MA candidate Diane French gives another perspective on meeting the growing demand for water, energy, and food through an integrated “nexus” approach to achieve water, energy, and food security worldwide.

Categories
Energy & Environment International Development Policy & Politics

Reducing Extreme Poverty Through the Water-Energy-Food Nexus

SAIS MA candidate Caitlin Smith offers ideas to enhance resiliency and reduce extreme poverty through the water-energy-food nexus.

Categories
Civil Society Economics Governance & Law

Open Government Data Fuels Private Sector Innovation: Data Jams, Hackathons and Datapaloozas

What happens when you put dozens of energy specialists, technology experts and government policymakers in a room? Senior Editor Lauren Caldwell discusses open government data initiatives — including datapaloozas, data jams and hackathons — with a Department of Energy Presidential Innovation Fellow.