Oil and territory in Putin's relations with China and Japan

Abstract

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has centralized decision making in Moscow and has reduced the role of domestic actors. He has demonstrated his own personal management of foreign policy in relation to China and Japan. He has used negotiations over oil and territory to place Russia in a more favourable position between them. In relation to oil, he has overruled the oil company Yukos and others within his own government and decided in favour of the Japanese pipeline route, which includes a branch line to China. Putin decided on the Japanese route because it promised access to wider markets in the Asia Pacific, besides China. It also entailed deeper Japanese involvement in Russia's development and reduced Russian dependence upon China. In terms of territory, Putin undermined the power of local opposition and offered territorial settlements to both China and Japan, to remove sources of future tension. With China he compromised over the river islands which had been left outstanding since the main border agreement was signed in 1991. To Japan he again offered a compromise over the disputed islands based on the 1956 agreement to improve relations. Russians may hope that energy dependence would induce the Japanese to become more willing to compromise over the territorial issue. The Japanese, however, expect that Russia's need for funding for the pipeline would allow them to resist that pressure and to demand a return of all disputed islands. If Russia emerges as an energy supplier to both China and Japan its influence and its regional role would be enhanced. Much depends upon the prospects for the oil pipeline and its branch line, whose feasibility has been questioned.     

Not a Curse at All: Why Middle Eastern Oil States Fail and How it can be Prevented

Western scholarship has often noted that oil states in the Middle East are affected by the ‘resource curse’. Thus, such states are to eventually fail due to their plundering of resources and their neglect of the social contract with their citizens. However, this is not the case, as oil states are neither failed states, nor fully democratic. They hover in a middle ground in which they assure security through coercion, but lack representation and legitimacy. Due to the events of the Arab Spring, a pragmatic, insightful and comprehensive review of oil states in the region is necessary. Although oil states in the region thus far have remained stable, change can be expected in the future. How will oil states deal with the pressures of a more demanding society and an ever-challenging economic atmosphere? Furthermore, what can history teach us so that state failure can be averted?     

Peak Oil as a stimulus for a green economy transition in South Africa: Alternative liquid fuel and transport options

Abstract

While the arguments in favour of a green economy often rest on the need to reduce environmental damage, mitigate climate change and create environmentally friendly jobs, this article argues that the inevitable and possibly imminent peak and decline in world oil production provides another strong rationale for green economy policies and investments in South Africa. The South African economy has a high degree of reliance on imported petroleum fuels and evidence suggests that oil price and supply shocks – resulting from diminishing world oil exports and a decline in the energy return on investment for oil globally – are likely to have a debilitating socioeconomic impact under business-as-usual policies and behaviour patterns. Two broad strategies for mitigating the impact of increasing world oil scarcity and oil price shocks are considered. The first evaluates the prospects for developing indigenous sources of liquid fuels, including coal-to-liquids, gas-to-liquids and biofuels, and finds that there are significant resource and environmental risks associated with these options. The second strategy involves short-term measures to reduce demand for liquid transport fuels together with a long-term shift toward electrified mass transport, supported by accelerated investments in renewable energy. The latter strategy is argued to be compatible with and necessary for a societal transition towards a green economy.     

Economic crisis,downsizing and “layoff survivor's syndrome”

This article deals with layoff survivor's syndrome following the 1997 economic crisis in South Korea. South Korea has been credited with quickly recovering from its economic crisis by implementing policies aimed at economic restructuring. However, researchers have discovered that, in addition to those directly affected by a lay-off, layoff survivors as well suffer from impacts on their mental health — hence the name, layoff survivors' syndrome. The present research focuses on the socio-psychological impact of downsizing on layoff survivors on the basis of a nationwide survey. The findings reveal a significant difference in work attitudes after downsizing, as well as a significant impact on survivors' mental health. The study concludes that these negative impacts may negatively influence organizational productivity, and thus downsizing as a blanket strategy for organizational renewal needs to be reconsidered.     

State-sponsored development,oil and democratization

This study seeks to examine the relationship between natural resource revenues, most notably oil-generated wealth, and democratization. I show that the prevalent theoretical framework fails to explain the variation in rentier states' level of democracy. The empirical evidence from the fixed-effects regression models for the 1972–1999 period poses a challenge to the currently prevalent ‘resource curse’ hypothesis and suggests the possibility of a positive relationship between oil wealth and democratization.     

石油公司应该对船舶油污损害负责吗?——评欧盟法院对Erika轮油污案的裁决

从2008年6月欧盟法院就法国最高法院向其"请示"的Erika轮油污案之裁决入手,分析油污民事责任公约的立法背景,指出在民事责任公约的体系之下承担污染损害责任的应该是船东,而不应向作为货方的石油公司进行索赔。欧盟法院所认定的石油公司可被视为欧盟废弃物相关法律之下的废弃物制造者,以及石油公司可能需要就因船舶溢油事故导致的海域石油污染损害负责之观点与现行的油污民事责任公约相悖。     

关于油田基层企业文化建设的思考

油田基层企业文化建设是整个油田企业文化建设的具体化,也是其文化建设的着力点和落脚点。但是,当前油田部分基层企业在企业文化建设过程中,存在着表面化、空想化、偏离化、僵硬化、政治化、文体化等错误倾向,正成为制约企业发展的重要因素。对基层企业文化建设中的这些误区及其产生原因进行科学剖析,并在此基础上对油田基层企业文化建设的路径进行深入探析,积极构建起充满向心力、执行力、感召力和创造力的油田基层企业文化,以基层文化建设推动整个油田企业文化建设水平提升,形成上层引导与基层推动的良性互动,从而实现整个油田的健康、快速、持续发展。     

The More Assertive and Pragmatic New Energy Policy in Putin’s Russia: Security Implications for Northeast Asia

The article examines Russia’s New Energy Policy (NEP) and its impact on Northeast Asian security and the development of the Russian Far East. In contrast to analyses highlighting competition between China and Japan for Russian resources, to the contrary it is argued here that greater cooperation among consumer states in Northeast Asia would be beneficial for Russia. Although the NEP has resulted in changes in the composition of foreign investors in Russian energy projects, the author suggests that Moscow is interested in multinational cooperation in the energy sector because it would help diversify the regional energy market and contribute to the development of the Russian Far East and eastern Siberia.

论建立和完善我国有关船舶油污损害赔偿责任限制程序的必要性

《海事诉讼特别程序法》第 9章仅对于海事赔偿责任限制基金设立程序做出规定 ,并没有明确规定油污损害赔偿责任限制程序问题 ,基于此 ,本文通过比较油污损害赔偿责任限制与海事赔偿责任限制的异同 ,初步提出建立和完善我国油污损害赔偿责任限制程序的立法建议。     

应用SPME-GL／MS检测放火现场中助燃剂的研究

运用GC/MS拜利用自制的萃取、加热装置,研究在纵火现场助燃剂一汽油、煤油、柴油检测中固相微萃取的萃取温度和萃取时间对检测灵敏度的影响,确定了适于实际检案中采用的萃取时间和萃取温度.此法测定汽油、煤油、柴油的检出限分别为0.65 pl/ml、1.63pl/ml和1.63 pl/ml.