"This exciting book is the first systematic study of how international environmental agreements are transformed into political action in Russia. Using three illuminating case studies on the implementation process in the fields of fisheries management, nuclear safety and air pollution control, this book fills an important gap in existing literature. While the focus in current social science debate on international environmental regimes is accumulating knowledge on 'implementing activities' at both national and international level, this book goes one step further and examines implementation at national and regional level. This topic is of great theoretical relevance to the study of environmental politics since some of the main sources of environmental degradation in Europe are to be found in the Russian Federation. It is also of relevance to the more general debate on contemporary Russian politics and offers valuable new material on regional politics in Russia. With its emphasis on the politics of environmental and resource management, it continues the description and discussion of political processes where most accounts of Russian politics tend to stop. This book will be invaluable for undergraduates, postgraduates and academics studying environmental politics and Russian politics at regional and national level"--Publisher's description
This exciting book is the first systematic study of how international environmental agreements are transformed into political action in Russia. Using three illuminating case studies on the implementation process in the fields of fisheries management, nuclear safety and air pollution control, this book fills an important gap in existing literature. While the focus in current social science debate on international environmental regimes is accumulating knowledge on 'implementing activities' at both national and international level, this book goes one step further and examines implementation at national and regional level. This topic is of great theoretical relevance to the study of environmental politics since some of the main sources of environmental degradation in Europe are to be found in the Russian Federation. It is also of relevance to the more general debate on contemporary Russian politics and offers valuable new material on regional politics in Russia. With its emphasis on the politics of environmental and resource management, it continues the description and discussion of political processes where most accounts of Russian politics tend to stop. This book will be invaluable for undergraduates, postgraduates and academics studying environmental politics and Russian politics at regional and national level.
This exciting book is the first systematic study of how international environmental agreements are transformed into political action in Russia. Using three illuminating case studies on the implementation process in the fields of fisheries management, nuclear safety and air pollution control, this book fills an important gap in existing literature. While the focus in current social science debate on international environmental regimes is accumulating knowledge on 'implementing activities' at both national and international level, this book goes one step further and examines implementation at national and regional level. This topic is of great theoretical relevance to the study of environmental politics since some of the main sources of environmental degradation in Europe are to be found in the Russian Federation. It is also of relevance to the more general debate on contemporary Russian politics and offers valuable new material on regional politics in Russia. With its emphasis on the politics of environmental and resource management, it continues the description and discussion of political processes where most accounts of Russian politics tend to stop. This book will be invaluable for undergraduates, postgraduates and academics studying environmental politics and Russian politics at regional and national level.
Svalbard og vernesonen rundt øygruppen står sentralt i det bilaterale forholdet mellom Norge og Russland, både økonomisk og sikkerhetspolitisk. Siden 1977 har en konflikt mellom landene omhandlet Norges rett til myndighetsutøvelse i disse farvannene. Hva er russiske persepsjoner av norsk politikk i vernesonen? Hvordan har persepsjoner og reaksjoner utviklet seg siden årtusenskiftet? Hvilke endringer – om noen – ser vi i forbindelse med forverringen i det bilaterale forholdet etter 2014? Og hva betyr dette for faren for en eventuell konflikt i dette området? Oppsummert finner vi at 2014 ikke fremstår som noe vannskille med hensyn til forholdet mellom Norge og Russland i vernesonen. Den store endringen kom da de russiske føderale myndighetene fra og med «Elektron»-saken i 2005 gikk over fra protest til dialog. Siden har Russland lagt seg på en relativt forsonlig linje. Unntaket er en kort periode etter arrestasjonen av den russiske tråleren «Sapfir-2» i etterkant av delelinjeavtalen mellom Norge og Russland fra 2010, da store deler av rederinæringen og andre i det russiske nord var i harnisk og krevde handling angående vernesonen. Etter 2011 har hendelser i vernesonen blitt håndtert uten ytterligere eskalering. Dette er derimot ikke en naturtilstand, men en situasjon underbygd av en rekke spesifikke faktorer som kan komme til å endre seg.
Abstract in EnglishSafeguarding Norwegian Rights around Svalbard: Russian Perceptions and ReactionsSvalbard and the maritime zone around the Arctic Archipelago are central to the bilateral relationship between Norway and Russia, both in terms of economic and security concerns. Since 1977, a dispute between the countries has concerned Norway's right to assert sovereignty in these waters. What are Russian perceptions of Norwegian sovereignty enforcement in the Fisheries Protection Zone (FPZ)? How have perceptions and reactions evolved since the turn of the millennium? What changes – if any – do we see in connection with the deterioration in the bilateral relationship after 2014? And what does this mean for the danger of a possible conflict in this area? In summary, we find that 2014 does not appear to be a watershed with respect to the relationship between Norway and Russia in the FPZ around Svalbard. The change came when Russian central authorities after the Elektron-case in 2005 switched from protest to dialogue. Since then, a relatively conciliatory line has been emphasized regarding this dispute. The exception is a short period after the arrest of the Russian trawler Sapfir-2 following the 2010 Norway-Russia Delimitation Agreement, when large parts of the fishing industry and other regional actors in the Russian north were in harness and demanded action. After 2011, incidents in the FPZ have been handled without further escalation, although this is by no means a state of nature, but a situation underpinned by a number of specific factors that could be subject to change.
The article discusses implementation of Russia's international obligations in fisheries management, nuclear safety and air pollution control. Empirical evidence is taken from the country's northwestern region. A main theoretical question is to what extent the observed level of compliance with international agreements can be explained by the nature of the problem and agreements at hand, and by the implementation activities of public authorities and target groups. The implementation performance in the case of fisheries management can be explained mainly by both positive and negative elements in public authorities' implementation efforts. In air pollution control, the nature of the commitments, i.e. the very limited need for behavioral changes, is the main explanation for implementation performance. The picture is a bit more complex in the case of nuclear safety where all the factors reviewed have had a moderate or considerable effect on implementation performance. Notably, institutional conflict at the federal level has hampered implementation, while regional authorities have since the mid-1990s indulged in constructive collaboration with various federal agencies.
This exciting book is the first systematic study of how international environmental agreements are transformed into political action in Russia. Using three illuminating case studies on the implementation process in the fields of fisheries management, nuclear safety and air pollution control, this book fills an important gap in existing literature. While the focus in current social science debate on international environmental regimes is accumulating knowledge on 'implementing activities' at both national and international level, this book goes one step further and examines implementation at national and regional level. This topic is of great theoretical relevance to the study of environmental politics since some of the main sources of environmental degradation in Europe are to be found in the Russian Federation. It is also of relevance to the more general debate on contemporary Russian politics and offers valuable new material on regional politics in Russia. With its emphasis on the politics of environmental and resource management, it continues the description and discussion of political processes where most accounts of Russian politics tend to stop. This book will be invaluable for undergraduates, postgraduates and academics studying environmental politics and Russian politics at regional and national level.
Published in 1999. On the basis of leading theoretical work on civil-military relations, the authors elaborate their own model, emphasising the continuum between military autonomy (which has traditionally characterised the military sector in Russia) and integration with civil society (which one might expect would be the result of the political changes having taken place in Russia over the past decade) Three Indicators of this relation are selected; the participation of military personnel in civilian life, and it particular politics; the status of closed cities; conversation of military industry to civilian production. These indicators are investigated at the federal level and at the regional level pertaining to Murmansk oblast' (the Kola Peninsula), which is one the most heavily militarised areas of the world. The study is based on intensive 'on-the-spot' data gathering in Murmansk, including interviews with officers, redundant officers and inhabitants of such closed cities.
