Energy security challenges for the 21st century: a reference handbook

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (06) ◽  
pp. 47-2929-47-2929 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1/2020) ◽  
pp. 33-67
Author(s):  
Olga Stevanovic

The subject of this paper encompasses US policy towards Poland and the Baltic States regarding energy security during Donald Trump’s presidency. It is discernible that vast domestic energy resources have created an opportunity for the US to project more power to these countries, and the surrounding region. We argue that Trump and his administration’s perceptions have served as an intervening variable in that opportunity assessment, in accordance with the neoclassical realist theory. The main research question addressed in this paper is whether US has used that opportunity to contribute to energy security in countries it has traditionally deemed as allies. Two aspects of US approach to energy security of the designated countries are taken into consideration: liquified natural gas exports and support for the Three Seas Initiative. The way Trump presented his policy and its results in his public statements has also been considered in this paper. The article will proceed as follows. The first subsection of the paper represents a summary of energy security challenges in Poland and the Baltic States. The second subsection is dedicated to the opportunity for the US to project energy power and to Trump’s perceptions relevant for the opportunity assessment. The third subsection deals with American LNG exports to these countries as a possible way for contributing to energy security in Poland and the Baltic States. The last part of the paper addresses the Three Seas Initiative and US approach to this platform.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Chris I. Nwagboso

This paper examines the various internal security challenges confronting Nigeria in the 21st century. The paper adopts historical method and content analysis to investigate how the abysmal failure of the poorly formulated and ineffectively implemented National Security Policy has hitherto exacerbated internal security challenges in Nigeria. The paper further attempts a critical review of major internal security challenges hitherto confronting the country; such as the Niger Delta crises, kidnapping in the South-East geo-political zone, Jos crises, Boko Haram crises and crises by Fulani Herdsmen in the Northern part of Nigeria. The result of the analysis shows that these internal security challenges have not only been difficult to address by the National Security Policy, but have also impacted negatively on the country's desired socio-economic development in the 21st century. The paper, therefore, recommends among others, the need for a careful review of the Nigeria's National Security Policy that will not only be integrative/comprehensive in outlook, but will also take cognizance of some domestic factors that are currently responsible for internal security problems in the country; such as unemployment, inequality, poverty, fraudulent electoral process, corruption, skewed federalism, porous nature of the Nigeria’s borders, sabotage among politicalelites, bad governance, religious intolerance, citizen-settler controversies, among others.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Yang Gao

<p>China's rapidly growing economy has seen a sharp rise in energy consumption and correspondingly a new focus on energy security. Over the last decade, China has adopted an energy security approach emphasizing its external energy supply, especially oil supply, which is quite similar to the approach established in industrialized Western countries (IWCs) since the 1970s' energy crises. However, China‟s energy situation is profoundly different from the West with over 90 percent of its energy being produced domestically and nearly 70 percent being coal-based. To explain why the approach in China is similar to that of major IWCs, I demonstrate that while the IWCs constructed their energy security concept and subsequent policy responses on their energy situation, China's approach has largely been influenced by a domestic ideational factor and Western energy security concept. By providing a detailed examination of China's energy situation, highlighting the unique energy security vulnerabilities and threats it faces, I argue current mainstream energy security thinking in China does not match its comprehensive energy situation. It is therefore not adequate to address its energy security challenges. The thesis concludes that, a 'broader' energy security approach, going beyond the traditional thinking, should be developed to incorporate more energy sectors and domestic energy issues in China.</p>


Author(s):  
Morgandi Tibisay ◽  
Viñuales Jorge E

This chapter investigates the concept of ‘energy security’, understood as the ‘uninterrupted availability of energy resources at an affordable price’. Importantly, according to this definition, the ‘availability’ of energy resources is measured against existing energy demand, and threats to energy security are therefore threats to the supply of enough energy to meet existing energy demand. Energy supply depends upon both domestic and international factors which are so interconnected that it is difficult to distinguish where one starts and the other ends. What is clear, however, is that international law plays a fundamental role in addressing many threats to energy security. The chapter looks at existing threats to energy security and the international legal frameworks that have been established in response. The challenges to energy security include an exponential increase in world energy demand, shortages of national oil and gas deposits, the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuel production in order to counteract climate change, as well as risks of geopolitical instability. The chapter then focuses on the mechanisms aimed to ensure that the flow of energy remains uninterrupted and at an affordable price, as well as on those mechanisms aimed at increasing access to energy resources.


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