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12. From Blue Stream to Turkish Stream: An Assesment of Turkey’s Energy Dependence On Russia
- Author:
- Bahadır Kaynak
- Publication Date:
- 07-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
- Institution:
- Altinbas University
- Abstract:
- Turkey started imports of natural gas from Russia before the Cold War ended, establishing the basis of an important relationship for decades to come. Construction of Blue Stream pipeline was a major landmark after which Moscow consolidated its position as the major supplier for Turkish market. Despite efforts to dilute Russia’s dominance in natural gas imports, Gazprom still controls more than half of Turkey’s total consumption today. Turkish Stream pipeline, that will directly link Russia with Turkey, is being constructed under these circumstances even though the project does not solely target Turkish consumers but aims to reach European market in transit from Turkey. Two decades after the signing of Blue Stream contract, a comparison between those projects may explain how Ankara has fared with its energy dependence on Russia.
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Oil, Gas, Pipeline, and Energy Dependence
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean
13. Social Policy in the Middle East and North Africa
- Author:
- Melani Cammett, Kristin Fabbe, Marc Lynch, Allison Spencer Hartnett, Ferdinand Eibl, Anna Getmansky, Tolga Sınmazdemir, Thomas Zeitzoff, Melp Arslanalp, Rania AbdelNaeem Mahmoud, Sean Yom, Wael Al-Khatib, Alexandra Blackman, Dina Bishara, Markus Loewe, Lars Westemeier, Asya El-Meehy, Marc C. Thompson, and Caroline Abadeer
- Publication Date:
- 10-2018
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
- Abstract:
- This spring, major protests swept through Jordan over economic grievances and subsidy reforms. In July, protestors took to the streets in the south of Iraq, demanding that the government address persistent unemployment, underdevelopment, and corruption. Meanwhile, earlier in 2018, Tunisians launched a wave of protests to oppose tax hikes on basic goods and increased cost of living. Such highly politicized responses to social policy concerns are the norm rather than the exception across the Middle East and North Africa. Social policy is where most citizens actually encounter the state and where policy most impacts peoples’ lives. As such, social policy and, more generally, welfare regimes, deserve a more central place in political science research on the region, as they have in the broader discipline. On April 20, 2018, POMEPS and the Harvard Middle East Initiative, led by Tarek Masoud, convened a workshop with a dozen scholars from around the world to discuss theoretical and policy issues related to social policy in the Middle East. The diverse, multidisciplinary group of scholars at the workshop addressed these questions from multiple perspectives. By probing the conditions under which reform occurs or may occur, the essays in POMEPS Studies 31, Social Policy in the Middle East and North Africa emphasize both possibilities for and persistent obstacles to change and underscore the deeply political nature of social policy reform.
- Topic:
- Development, Education, Energy Policy, Politics, Culture, Prisons/Penal Systems, Reform, Employment, Youth, Social Policy, Political Parties, Social Contract, and Housing
- Political Geography:
- Iran, Turkey, Middle East, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia
14. How Turkey Can Ensure a Successful Energy Transition
- Author:
- Deger Saygin, Max Hoffman, and Philipp Godron
- Publication Date:
- 07-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for American Progress - CAP
- Abstract:
- Turkey needs to transition its energy system rapidly in order to reduce its reliance on imports, which account for 3 out of 4 units of Turkey’s total primary energy supply. With a growing population and economy, the country’s imported energy costs have reached alarming levels, driving a significant share of Turkey’s current account deficit. Turkey’s population grew from 70 million only a decade ago to 81 million people in 2017—the equivalent of adding a metropolitan region the size of the Rhine-Ruhr in Germany or Chicago in the United States.1 Alongside this population growth, the economy has seen gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth averaging 3 percent per year, with growth exceeding 7 percent in 2010 and 2017 and 9 percent in 2011.2 This increasing demand has driven rapid growth of the country’s energy system, including in conventional fossil fuels and renewable energy. Fortunately, Turkey is endowed with significant renewable energy resources, a flexible financial sector, an entrepreneurial business approach, and a large manufacturing and engineering base. Turkey’s auction scheme for tenders—or awarding the rights to undertake renewable energy projects—means that much of the installed renewable energy equipment will also be locally produced, a product of government efforts to position the country for the wider, global energy transition as part of its ambitious plan for the 2023 centenary of the Republic.3
- Topic:
- Energy Policy, Science and Technology, Renewable Energy, and Transition
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Asia
15. East Mediterranean Partnership Signals an Energy Revolution
- Author:
- Emmanuel Navon
- Publication Date:
- 12-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
- Abstract:
- Natural gas has turned Greece from a rival to an ally just as relations between Israel and Turkey started deteriorating.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Energy Policy, International Cooperation, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Israel, Greece, and Mediterranean
16. Turkey-KRG Energy Relations: Internal and External Dynamics
- Author:
- Remziye Yilmaz
- Publication Date:
- 07-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
- Abstract:
- This paper aims at exploring internal and external dynamics of Turkey- KRG energy relations. It argues that Turkey’s fight against the PKK, its increasing energy need, the target of Turkish energy decision-makers to decrease the high reliance of the country on Russian and Iranian gas, Turkey’s goal of emerging as an energy hub, the economic interests of Turkish business groups, the strained relations between Ankara and Baghdad, and Erbil-Baghdad conflict have been the major determinants of Turkey’s energy strategy towards the KRG. The paper concludes that the independence referendum held by the KRG in September 2017 has serious implications for the future of the Ankara- Erbil energy partnership, depending on measures to be taken by Kurdish and Iraqi leaders.
- Topic:
- Security, Energy Policy, International Cooperation, and Independence
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Asia
17. Corruption Reports 2016: Assessment of Turkey’s State-Owned Energy Enterprises
- Author:
- Esra Gürakar, H. Ceren Zeytinoğlu, K. İpek Miscioğlu, and R. Evren Aydoğan
- Publication Date:
- 12-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
- Abstract:
- The insights gained from the research and advocacy efforts of the first phase of SELDI put forward that energy is one of the most susceptible sectors to corruption in all nine SELDI partner countries. Turkey differs from the rest of the SELDI countries in terms of energy sector and state-owned enterprise (SOE) sizes, dynamics, and recent debates.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Energy Policy, Natural Resources, State, Accountability, and Transparency
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Middle East
18. The response of Turkey and Russia after Jet Crisis and the implications for the South Caucasus
- Author:
- Cristina Juan Carrion, Gulnara Abbas, and Ibrahim Ibrahimov
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD)
- Abstract:
- In 2016 and years thereafter, the economies of Turkey and Russia will experience considerable change due to sanctions imposed by the Russian government as a response to the downing of a Russian warplane in November 2015.The dissolution of Russian-Turkish ties has also affected neighboring regions, especially the South Caucasus. As a result, there will be a transformation in economic, political, demographical and social trends. The sectors of agriculture, energy and especially tourism will face tremendous changes with the performance of new key players.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Energy Policy, Migration, Labor Issues, Tourism, Sanctions, Economy, and Transportation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Eurasia, Turkey, Middle East, and South Caucasus
19. Economic Integration in the Middle East
- Author:
- Shahrokh Fardoust
- Publication Date:
- 06-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Middle East Institute (MEI)
- Abstract:
- The region has incurred huge economic and social losses from poor economic management and conflicts requiring massive military outlays. A policy shift is needed to deploy its substantial human, natural, and financial assets more efficiently through adopting economic and social policies that lead to more rapid and inclusive economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa. The four most powerful players in the region—Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, and Turkey—need to spearhead regional political and economic stabilization to address the root problems. Major regional infrastructure projects in energy, water, and transport are needed to better integrate their economies and expand intra-regional and world-wide trade. This policy paper argues that the major regional players should each follow a coherent long-term development strategy requiring four prongs plus cooperation: Reduce regional tensions and end conflicts through diplomacy and by recognizing that the current approaches are impeding investment and economic growth. Undertake significant economic and institutional reforms at home to remove binding constraints on growth, revitalize the private sector, improve financial access by small and medium-sized businesses, and improve the quality of education. Focus on well-targeted policies and structural reforms that would lead to significant reductions in youth employment and increased female labor force participation; and introduce cuts in military expenditures as regional tensions subside, and reallocate public investment savings to clean energy and infrastructure investments. Increase inter- and intra-regional cooperation and trade, initiate regional projects in partnership with the private sector in areas such as tourism, air and ground transport, regional energy and water, regional health and education, and research hubs. To support these initiatives, a regional development and reconstruction program supported by a 'mini-Marshall Plan' is urgently needed.
- Topic:
- Economics, Energy Policy, Infrastructure, Reform, and Regional Integration
- Political Geography:
- Iran, Turkey, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt
20. Could the G-20 Become Coherent on Climate?
- Author:
- Gwynne Taraska and Henry Kellison
- Publication Date:
- 08-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for American Progress - CAP
- Abstract:
- The G-20—a forum of 20 of the world’s largest economies—has a record of ambivalence on the topic of climate change. One case in point is the disconnect between the group’s efforts to address climate risks and its efforts to reduce the shortfall in global infrastructure investment. On one hand, the G-20 is aware that investing in projects that are high-carbon or vulnerable to the physical effects of rising temperatures carries risks that could have a destabilizing influence on the global economy. On the other hand, the G-20 is seeking to narrow the infrastructure gap in the absence of a guiding principle that infrastructure investments must be climate-compatible. Members of the G-20 Argentina Australia Brazil Canada China European Union France Germany India Indonesia Italy Japan Korea Mexico Russia Saudi Arabia South Africa Turkey United Kingdom United States In September 2016, world leaders will convene for the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China. One focus of the climate agenda will be ensuring that the Paris Agreement takes effect in the near term. Negotiated by more than 190 nations and finalized in December 2015, the agreement set many collective goals, including limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels and ensuring that global financial flows are compatible with low-greenhouse gas development.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Japan, China, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Turkey, India, South Korea, France, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Italy, and Mexico