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9661. The Economic Crisis and the Future of the Gas Sector

Author:
A. Medvedev
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
East View Information Services
Abstract:
WE ARE GOING THROUGH a difficult period both for the world economy and for the world energy sector, including the gas industry. That is why a constructive dialogue between all gas market players, as well as regulators and politicians, is of exceptional importance. Today it is hard to find a gas market player not in search of an answer to the question of how long the financial and economic crisis will last and how it will affect the gas industry's future structure and activity.
Topic:
Economics and Politics

9662. Table of Contents

Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
No abstract is available.

9663. From Revolution to Transition in Tunisia

Author:
Gordon Gray
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali's abrupt departure on January 14 set Tunisians upon a new and hopeful path to representative government and greater personal freedom, while setting off a wave of democratic protest across the region. Yet the tumultuous period from mid-December to mid-February—a time of popular uprising, political violence, Ben Ali's departure, and the early instability of a new government—has been followed by months of deliberately paced and publicly debated transition to a new government enjoying popular legitimacy. In fact, what is most remarkable about the process since Ben Ali's overthrow is how the people of Tunisia have, in a largely peaceful and orderly manner, set themselves to the immensely complex task of consolidating their democratic transition.
Topic:
Political Violence, Democratization, and Government
Political Geography:
Tunisia

9664. After the Arab Spring: The Road to Reform in the Middle East and North Africa

Author:
William Sweeney
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Once the first protests erupted in Tunisia in December 2010, a wave of unrest quickly spread across the Middle East and North Africa as citizens expressed their discontent with the region's regimes. The Arab Spring was the result of mounting dissatisfaction with the status quo but also the result of blatant government corruption, brutal human rights violations, the economic downturn, low wages and rising unemployment rates. The socio-economic problems were truly the boiling point that pushed protesters, particularly youth, over the edge.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Middle East, North Africa, and Tunisia

9665. Will Morocco's Reforms Point a Way Forward or Simply Succeed Alone?

Author:
Edward M. Gabriel and Robert M. Holley
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Having both served in Morocco as representatives of the United States under President Clinton, and for the past ten years as advisers to the Kingdom of Morocco, we have witnessed firsthand the remarkable record of political and social transformation that Morocco has undergone over the past twenty years, and particularly since King Mohammed VI assumed the throne twelve years ago.
Topic:
Politics
Political Geography:
United States and Morocco

9666. Africa's Multicultural Tradition and Current Arab Trends

Author:
Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile-Selassie
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Africa's multicultural tradition and its influence on the Arab Spring are challenging and singularly complex subjects, certain to frustrate those who seek neat, linear, cause-and-effect relationships. In many respects, Africa's multicultural tradition, when juxtaposed against the complex and largely externally imposed circumstances of Africa's turbulent history, and the realpolitik of today, is but a small—albeit critical—component in the dynamic, driving the people and institutions of modern Africa, and its regional neighbors, towards change. Washington's US policy establishment, for instance, contains more fractious 'tribes' than Iraq and Afghanistan combined, each with its own political agenda and pandering media-congressional constituency. How, one wonders, can objective truth divining the complexly-nuanced affairs of ancient nations half a world away possibly emerge from such a riot of contending institutional interests and agendas?
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Africa, United States, Iraq, and Washington

9667. America's Growing Stake in Central Asia

Author:
Robert O. Blake, Jr.
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
This year marks the 20th anniversary of independence for the five republics of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This anniversary is a good opportunity to reflect on America's growing stake in Central Asia. Since 1991, our desire for a stable, independent, and prosperous Central Asia has guided US policy priorities in the region, with each of the five nations working towards building strong, market-oriented democracies. In recent years, the United States has sought to increase engagement with this region on a broad range of issues, particularly as we work to bring stability, security, and prosperity to Afghanistan, which borders three of the Central Asian republics. Located at the critical geostrategic crossroads of Eurasia, the region is rich not only in natural resources, economic opportunity, and human capacity, but also in its diversity of people, culture, and ideas. Just as the region was at the center of the Silk Road of centuries past, Central Asia has the potential once again to serve as a hub of trade, transport, and ideas in Eurasia, linking the people and markets of East and West, and North and South. We look forward to working with the Central Asian republics, their neighbors, and international partners to create a new Silk Road that integrates this strategically vital region and offers new opportunities for its people.
Topic:
Culture
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, America, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan

9668. The Missing End Game for Afghanistan: A Sustainable Post Bin Laden Strategy

Author:
David M. Abshire
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
On June 22, 2011, President Obama outlined his plans for the withdrawal of 33,000 US troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012 with the removal of all combat troops by 2014. The announcement has reenergized an ongoing debate sparked by the recent death of Osama bin Laden over the United States’ role in Afghanistan. Pundits and politicians from both the political Right and Left are calling for a speedier withdrawal and reduction in aid in the wake of bin Laden’s death.
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and United States

9669. 3.11: How I Saw It

Author:
Ichiro Fujisaki
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
What a horrific scene it was. Places where houses and buildings had been, and where people had been walking and working, were washed away. Driving through the area with my wife and daughter four months after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsumani struck Japan, I met school teachers and others who had lost family members. Despite their tragic experiences, I was encouraged that many of them were trying to recover from the shock and were working hard on behalf of their families and their communities.
Political Geography:
Japan

9670. Honduras: Crisis, Transition and Reform

Author:
Hugo Llorens
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
This should be a time of triumph and opportunity for Honduras. Two years after a coup d'état toppled President José Manuel Zelaya, Honduras has successfully restored its dynamic and democratic political system. The freely elected government of President Porfirio Lobo has secured deserved international recognition. In May, former President Zelaya returned to Honduras, ending a lengthy exile in the Dominican Republic that had prolonged the country's political polarization. The following month, the Organization of American States (OAS) lifted its suspension on Honduras's participation, a moment of profound symbolic and practical significance and a diplomatic objective that the United States and other countries in the region had worked long and hard to achieve.
Topic:
Democratization and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Dominican Republic