NUPI Research Online (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs)
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Waging Peace, towards an Africa Union Stabilisation Strategy for Somalia
Get PDFOver the last few years, successful military operations across Somalia have helped to unshackle towns south of Mogadishu from al Shabaab, demonstrating the capacity of the African Union Mission to Somalia (amisom) to achieve parts of its mandate. However, friction between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Federal Member States have heightened tensions and rifts over elections, state management and overall security, despite significant international support. Despite amisom s efforts, the legacies of the 1990s civil war have remained unresolved, and state restoration has been disrupted by political, clannish, environmental and structural challenges. In contrast, al Shabaab remains adaptable, resilient and exploits grievances, local dynamics, and competition over resources. This paper argues, the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council needs to re-mandate and reinforce amisom in conjunction with an AU stabilisation strategy for Somalia which exploits experiences from the AU’s Regional Stabilisation Strategy for the Lake Chad Basin.Waging Peace, towards an Africa Union Stabilisation Strategy for SomaliapublishedVersio
Are renewable energy sources more evenly distributed than fossil fuels?
Get PDFThe energy transition literature assumes that renewable energy sources are more evenly distributed globally than fossil fuels. This assumption implies that the shift from fossil fuels to renewables will enable more countries to pursue energy self-sufficiency and end their dependence on imported energy. However, if the assumption is wrong, the energy transition will depend on transboundary electricity or hydrogen trade, creating new international relationships and opportunities for both cooperation and conflict. The contribution of this study is to test the assumption of the even distribution of renewable energy resources on a quantitative empirical basis. Lorenz curves are compared and Gini coefficients calculated for three types of fossil fuels and three types of renewable energy in 161 countries. The study concludes that renewable energy is indeed more evenly distributed than fossil fuels. This finding lends support to claims that energy transition will bring about a more decentralized global energy system centered on prosumer countries with few long-distance energy relationships. However, the difference between the evenness of the distribution of renewable energy resources and that of fossil fuel reserves is not as great as the literature assumes. International trade in energy, and by extension international energy politics, will not disappear entirely.Are renewable energy sources more evenly distributed than fossil fuels?publishedVersio
ASEAN’s energy transition: how to attract more investment in renewable energy
Get PDFThe energy transition is progressing slowly in the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). To achieve ASEAN’s target of 23% renewables in the primary energy supply by 2025, the region would need to invest USD 27 billion in renewable energy every year. However, the ASEAN countries attracted no more than USD 8 billion annually from 2016 to 2021. Through a comparative review of three key factors for attracting investment—renewable energy legislation, energy governance reform, and general conditions for investors—this study examines why the region’s renewable energy sector has not attracted more capital. The contribution of the article is threefold. First, it develops a new review model for assessing the business climate for renewable energy in any country. Second, it offers an update on the state of renewable energy deployment in the ASEAN countries. Third, taking into account international best practices, it identifies the obstacles and solutions to attracting investment in renewable energy in Southeast Asia. The article finds that carbon lock-in is pervasive, regulatory practices have been copy-pasted from the fossil-fuel sector to the renewables sector, and, except for Malaysia and Vietnam, no ASEAN country has implemented a major pro-renewable energy governance reform. Certain advanced renewable energy measures, such as auctions and feed-in tariffs, have been adopted in some member states, but the institutional capacity to implement them is limited. The share of renewables in the energy governance system needs to be increased.ASEAN’s energy transition: how to attract more investment in renewable energypublishedVersio
End of an era: Future of Nordic security from a Finnish perspective
Get PDFWith the full-scale attack on Ukraine, Russia crossed a red line for Finland, prompting the country to abandon its long-term military non-alignment policy and seek NATO membership. Finland is thus moving away from the decades-long emphasis on good relations with its eastern neighbour and instead towards the clearest possible deterrence posture. The now coherent Alliance membership of all five Nordic countries will unlock new ambition levels in the regional framework of NORDEFCO that were hitherto blocked by Finland and Sweden remaining outside of the NATO command structure.End of an era: Future of Nordic security from a Finnish perspectivepublishedVersio
Debating Japan - Opposition: Japan Should Maintain Investments in Oil and Gas Projects
No full textRussia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was met with international condemnation as countries, led by the G7, began imposing sanctions against Russia. In March, the United States announced that it would prohibit the import of Russian oil, gas, and coal, as well as new investments in Russia’s energy sector, and the European Union is now following suit with its own sanctions package. While Japan has joined the international sanctions regime and been vocal in its opposition to the war, it has yet to divest from joint oil and gas projects in the Russian island of Sakhalin, just north of Hokkaido. In the 27th issue of the Debating Japan newsletter series, the CSIS Japan Chair invited Taisuke Abiru, senior research fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, and Wrenn Yennie Lindgren, senior research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, to assess Japan’s investments in Russian oil and gas and whether it should fully divest from Russian energy.publishedVersio
Know your opponent: Which countries might fight the European carbon border adjustment mechanism?
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‘Global Britain’ and security in the near abroad. Leadership through flexilateralism?
Get PDFThe British government’s vision for a post-Brexit ‘Global Britain’ is increasingly taking shape in (i) the security and defence domain and (ii) the UK’s near abroad. Recent policy documents highlight how the UK sees a strengthened role for itself in tackling security and defence challenges in the Euro-Atlantic region, including in the High North and Arctic. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the UK has increased its security and defence engagement in the Euro-Atlantic region further. While NATO continues to be the key security framework, the UK increasingly resorts to British-led formats like the Northern Group and the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), along with bi- and trilateral engagements. With JEF-members Finland and Sweden set to join NATO, there is a potential for JEF to take on a more explicit role as a supporting instrument for the alliance, but also to function as an informal political consultation forum prior to action being taken.‘Global Britain’ and security in the near abroad. Leadership through flexilateralism?publishedVersio
