Search results

This book seeks to pose and explore a question that sheds light on the contested but largely cooperative nature of Arctic governance in the post-Cold War period: how does power matter – and how has it mattered – in shaping cross-border cooperation and diplomacy in the Arctic? Each chapter functions as a window through which power relations in the Arctic are explored. Issues include how representing the Arctic region matters for securing preferred outcomes, how circumpolar cooperation is marked by regional hierarchies and how Arctic governance has become a global social site in its own right, replete with disciplining norms for steering diplomatic behaviour. This book draws upon Russia's role in the Arctic Council as an extended case study and examines how Arctic cross-border governance can be understood as a site of competition over the exercise of authority.

Scholarly work in many fields has shown the important and changing role played by experts in international and national policymaking. Historical studies have revealed how Soviet scientists figured in politics in unexpected ways. However, no comprehensive study of the interplay between scientific expert knowledge and contemporary Russian policymaking has been carried out. This book argues that in order to understand Russia's position on complex policy challenges, like climate change, we must understand how experts and scientific knowledge factor into Russia's policymaking processes. Russia is s

The Arctic as a booming oil and gas province has been a predominant geopolitical representation of the region. However, the shale gas revolution in the United States and the drop in oil prices since late 2014 has reduced the viability of many high-cost Arctic oil and gas prospects. Little scholarly attention has been paid to the consequences of pursued but unrealized natural resource-based projects. This article brings literature from geography and science and technology studies into conversation to map out a preliminary research agenda for understanding how these "shelved futures" are still likely to matter in Arctic communities and policymaking. This conceptual argument is bolstered with a short exploratory case study of Murmansk, Russia. The qualitative-interview based case study illustrates two ways in which the Shtokman gas project retained regional significance, even three years after the project was suspended. Specifically, these are 1) a comparatively negative assessment of the broader socio-economic prospects of the region, and 2) expanded and possibly changed understandings on the part of the different stakeholders (business, government, civil society/the public) about their own and others' potential roles. The semi-structured interviews with stakeholders primarily focused on recollections of petroleum companies' corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, as these efforts were a concrete harbinger of the much-trumpeted oil and gas future.(Published: January 2017)Citation: E.W. Rowe. "Promises, promises: The unbuilt petroleum environment in Murmansk." Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol. 8, 2017, pp. 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v8.504

The Arctic as a booming oil and gas province has been a predominant geopolitical representation of the region. However, the shale gas revolution in the United States and the drop in oil prices since late 2014 has reduced the viability of many high-cost Arctic oil and gas prospects. Little scholarly attention has been paid to the consequences of pursued but unrealized natural resource-based projects. This article brings literature from geography and science and technology studies into conversation to map out a preliminary research agenda for understanding how these "shelved futures" are still likely to matter in Arctic communities and policymaking. This conceptual argument is bolstered with a short exploratory case study of Murmansk, Russia. The qualitative-interview based case study illustrates two ways in which the Shtokman gas project retained regional significance, even three years after the project was suspended. Specifically, these are 1) a comparatively negative assessment of the broader socio-economic prospects of the region, and 2) expanded and possibly changed understandings on the part of the different stakeholders (business, government, civil society/the public) about their own and others' potential roles. The semi-structured interviews with stakeholders primarily focused on recollections of petroleum companies' corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, as these efforts were a concrete harbinger of the much-trumpeted oil and gas future.(Published: January 2017)Citation: E.W. Rowe. "Promises, promises: The unbuilt petroleum environment in Murmansk." Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol. 8, 2017, pp. 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v8.504

This article takes an in-depth look at the establishment of a technology and educational complex outside of Moscow dedicated to promoting innovation. The set of interrelated initiatives, which are referred to in this article as the 'Skolkovo project', were centerpieces of Medvedev's much touted efforts to 'modernize' the Russian economy during his presidential period. While others have examined the Skolkovo project with a macroeconomic perspective and an eye towards predicting whether it (and Russia's innovation policy more generally) can succeed, a different approach is taken here. Rather than evaluating Skolkovo's viability, the aim is to identify elite socio-political discourses surrounding the construction of Skolkovo. How particular moments are navigated – for example, securing a balance between government and private actors in the Skolkovo project or seeking networks internationally – can be seen as illustrative of how broader challenges in Russian governance are being (or failing to be) addressed. The case study is based in a content analysis of 310 Skolkovo-related texts (interviews, political speeches, articles) published in the state-owned newspaper Rossikaya Gazeta.

Development studies; Russia; Far East; International affairs; Energy; Shanghai cooperation organization; Economic development; Security policy; Multilateral organizations; Diplomacy; Regionalism; Russian–European relations; Russia's "pivot to the East"; Annexation of Crimea; Regional politics; Eurasia; Ukraine; Sanctions regime; Foreign policy