The Sami are a Northern indigenous people whose land, Sapmi, covers territory in Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. For the Nordic Sami, the last decades of the twentieth century saw their indigenous rights partially recognized, a cultural and linguistic revival, and the establishment of Sami parliaments. The Russian Sami, however, did not have the same opportunities and were isolated behind the closed border until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This book examines the following two decades and the Russian Sami's attempt to achieve a linguistic revival, to mend the Cold War scars, and to establish their own independent ethno-political organizations.

The Sami are a Northern indigenous people whose land, Sapmi, covers territory in Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. For the Nordic Sami, the last decades of the twentieth century saw their indigenous rights partially recognized, a cultural and linguistic revival, and the establishment of Sami parliaments. The Russian Sami, however, did not have the same opportunities and were isolated behind the closed border until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This book examines the following two decades and the Russian Sami's attempt to achieve a linguistic revival, to mend the Cold War scars, and to establish their own independent ethno-political organizations.

The Arctic region contains large amounts of natural resources considered necessary to sustain global economic growth, so it is unsurprising that it is increasingly susceptible to political, economic, environmental, and even military conflicts. This book looks in detail at the preconditions and outlook for international cooperation on the development of Arctic petroleum resources, focusing on Norwegian-Russian cooperation in the Barents Sea towards 2025. The authors provide a cross-disciplinary approach including geopolitical, institutional, technological, corporate and environmental perspectives to analyse the underlying factors that shape the future development of the region. Three future scenarios are developed, exploring various levels of cooperation and development influenced by and resulting from potential political, commercial and environmental circumstances. Through these scenarios, the book improves understanding of the challenges and opportunities for Arctic petroleum resource development and promotes further consideration of the possible outcomes of future cooperation. The book should be of interest to students, scholars and policy-makers working in the areas of Arctic studies, oil and gas studies, energy security, global environmental governance, environmental politics and environmental technology. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138783263_oachapter1.pdf Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138783263_oachapter2.pdf Chapter 6 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138783263_oachapter6.pdf

Caspian Energy Politics analyses the role of oil and gas in the development of the three main petroleum exporters in the Caspian region - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan - and how energy resources influence interactions with semi-authoritarian Russia and China. Due to volatile commodity prices and competition for the resources in and around the Caspian Sea, the governments of these petroleum-exporters face a series of difficult decisions. These governments have sought to balance short-term incentives to spend oil revenues as a means to maintain power against the need for a long-term strategy for managing these assets, choices which have further implications for how these countries align themselves internationally. By illuminating important linkages between domestic and international dynamics in these states, the book provides a fresh perspective on energy politics and the impact of petroleum on the development of the Caspian petroleum producers. Expert contributors from Central Asia and the South Caucasus and international scholars provide context-specific insights into the incentives affecting decision-makers that can provide a foundation for strategies to help the countries in the region overcome the negative effects of reliance on oil and gas. As such, the book will be a valuable tool for business actors seeking to understand the role of Chinese and Russian companies in the region, as well as local and international policymakers and non-governmental organisations.

Caspian Energy Politics analyses the role of oil and gas in the development of the three main petroleum exporters in the Caspian region - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan - and how energy resources influence interactions with semi-authoritarian Russia and China.

Due to volatile commodity prices and competition for the resources in and around the Caspian Sea, the governments of these petroleum-exporters face a series of difficult decisions. These governments have sought to balance short-term incentives to spend oil revenues as a means to maintain power against the need for a long-term strategy for managing these assets, choices which have further implications for how these countries align themselves internationally. By illuminating important linkages between domestic and international dynamics in these states, the book provides a fresh perspective on energy politics and the impact of petroleum on the development of the Caspian petroleum producers.

Expert contributors from Central Asia and the South Caucasus and international scholars provide context-specific insights into the incentives affecting decision-makers that can provide a foundation for strategies to help the countries in the region overcome the negative effects of reliance on oil and gas. As such, the book will be a valuable tool for business actors seeking to understand the role of Chinese and Russian companies in the region, as well as local and international policymakers and non-governmental organisations.

What is Russia's potential as a partner in the global race towards a low-carbon economy? This book provides a balanced analysis of Russia's impressive, understudied and sometimes surprising strengths in the renewable energy sector. The work is a first of its kind, exploring the significant political and economic obstacles to developing renewable energy in Russia. The volume explores whether effective partnerships may be achieved by combining Russia's excellence in basic research and its diverse natural resources with Western management skills - and aiming for innovation and exports. Solar power, electricity reform, market niches for renewable energy and Nordic-Russian partnership are all examined in detail. Providing crucial insights for academics, policy-makers and business actors seeking to cooperate with Russian partners, this groundbreaking book raises the vitally important question of how key countries such as Russia will approach global climate politics and their own energy supply in the post-Kyoto world.

The Arctic region contains large amounts of natural resources considered necessary to sustain global economic growth, so it is unsurprising that it is increasingly susceptible to political, economic, environmental, and even military conflicts. This book looks in detail at the preconditions and outlook for international cooperation on the development of Arctic petroleum resources, focusing on Norwegian-Russian cooperation in the Barents Sea towards 2025. The authors provide a cross-disciplinary approach including geopolitical, institutional, technological, corporate and environmental perspectives to analyse the underlying factors that shape the future development of the region. Three future scenarios are developed, exploring various levels of cooperation and development influenced by and resulting from potential political, commercial and environmental circumstances. Through these scenarios, the book improves understanding of the challenges and opportunities for Arctic petroleum resource development and promotes further consideration of the possible outcomes of future cooperation. The book should be of interest to students, scholars and policy-makers working in the areas of Arctic studies, oil and gas studies, energy security, global environmental governance, environmental politics and environmental technology. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138783263_oachapter1.pdf Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138783263_oachapter2.pdf Chapter 6 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138783263_oachapter6.pdf

This book discusses how civil society, public debate and freedom of speech affect the management of natural resources. Drawing on the work of Robert Dahl, Jurgen Habermas and Robert Putnam, the book introduces the concept of public brainpower. Good governance of natural resources requires fertile public debate - to conceive new institutions, to provide checks and balances on existing institutions and to ensure their continuous dynamic evolution as the needs of society change. The book explores the strengths and weaknesses of these ideas through case studies of 18 oil and gas-producing countries: Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK and Venezuela. The concluding chapter presents 10 tenets on how states can maximize their public brainpower, as well as a ranking of how well 33 resource-rich countries have succeeded in doing so. Four of the chapters - 'Introduction', 'Norway', 'Kazakhstan' and 'Russia' - are available under a CC BY 4.0 Open Access license at link.springer.com.

This open access book explores climate change impacts, adaptation, and mitigation in Central Asia and discusses policy options for the Central Asian governments. To address the urgent need for local scholarship on climate change in Central Asia, and in particular the need for more research by social scientists, this book features a wide range of contributions on climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation in the region. Each chapter makes an important contribution to social science scholarship on climate change and decarbonization in Central Asia. Topics include decarbonization opportunities, carbon pricing instruments, the geo-economics of the energy transition, the relationship between human mobility and climate change. The book thus offers valuable insights for both academics and policymakers.

This book discusses how civil society, public debate and freedom of speech affect the management of natural resources. Drawing on the work of Robert Dahl, Jurgen Habermas and Robert Putnam, the book introduces the concept of public brainpower. Good governance of natural resources requires fertile public debate - to conceive new institutions, to provide checks and balances on existing institutions and to ensure their continuous dynamic evolution as the needs of society change. The book explores the strengths and weaknesses of these ideas through case studies of 18 oil and gas-producing countries: Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK and Venezuela. The concluding chapter presents 10 tenets on how states can maximize their public brainpower, as well as a ranking of how well 33 resource-rich countries have succeeded in doing so. Four of the chapters - 'Introduction', 'Norway', 'Kazakhstan' and 'Russia' - are available under a CC BY 4.0 Open Access license at link.springer.com.

The North is intrinsic to the way most outsiders imagine Russia: snow, long winters and the endless Siberian forests. Indeed, about 70 percent of the country's territory is defined as belonging to the North. These inhospitable tracts contain immense natural wealth, and large cities were constructed in Soviet times to supply the labor force for extraction industries. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian North has become both a burden and an asset. It is overdeveloped, with its now obsolete mono-industrial towns, and underdeveloped, with its still largely untapped natural resources. Today's Russian authorities face the challenge of developing a new Northern policy adapted to the realities of the 21st century. With its expert contributions from political science, economics, geography, and anthropology, this book represents the first comprehensive study in the Western literature of federal politics towards the Russian North. In addition to mapping the scope for federal governance, it covers such important issues such as infrastructure development, natural resource management, environmental affairs, and policies towards indigenous peoples.