Resource rents,institutions, and violent civil conflicts

Natural resources have been blamed for inducing slow growth and sparking civil conflicts and violence. This paper first develops a model to account for the hazard of armed civil conflicts as a manifestation of the natural resource curse, which is mediated by the quality of both economic and political institutions. We then use recently published data on institutional quality and natural resource rents to measure the potential impact of the resource curse on violent civil conflicts using a panel of data for over 100 countries in the period 1970–2010. Our model explicitly accounts for the role of good economic and political institutions in deterring the recourse to violence as well as the extent to which they might weaken the resource rents effect.     

Operation ‘Serval’: A Strategic Analysis of the French Intervention in Mali, 2013–2014

In 2013, France launched Operation ‘Serval’ to halt the southwards advance of Islamist insurgents in Mali. Using a Clausewitzian analytical framework, this article provides an assessment of France’s political and military aims in Mali and the degree to which they have been attained. Clear political goals, coordinated international diplomacy, an effective use of military force and blunders by the rebel forces turned ‘Serval’ into a short-term success. Strategically, however, the mission has proven unable to address the conflict’s underlying causes. Serval’s long-term effect is probably better measured by what it prevented than what it contributed.     

菜籽油基防锈润滑添加剂的制备及性能研究

菜籽油基添加剂是一种可生物降解的环保的润滑剂。水基润滑剂具有导热性好,成本低廉等优点。利用菜籽油制备了一种具有良好润滑性、极压性、防锈性及表面活性的多效水溶性润滑添加剂。此添加剂生物降解性好,制备过程中无废物及污染物产生,具有很好的环保效果。     

Neglected but affected: voices from the oil-producing regions of Ghana and Uganda

The ‘resource curse’ is the paradoxical theory frequently used to explain how a seemingly desirable asset, such as oil, can actually pervert an economy, erode governance, perpetuate conflict, and ruin local communities to the extent that it becomes a curse. New oil discoveries in western Ghana and western Uganda have raised concerns for the democratic prospects and future stability of these countries and their surrounding regions. Based on field interviews in these oil-producing regions, this report summarises how local communities have been affected thus far and their concerns for the future. The authors assess the extent to which each country is vulnerable to oil-induced instability, and identify groups or communities that would be most likely to perpetuate it. Lastly, it provides some assessment of the future trajectory of each country.     

Reinterpreting Libya's WMD Turnaround – Bridging the Carrot-Coercion Divide

The dominant explanations of Libya's nuclear reversal in 2003 privilege either coercion or carrots treating these instruments as alternatives. Indoing so they ignore that it took a combination of coercion, carrots and confidence-building to turn Libya around. This article demonstrates this by developing and deploying a theoretical framework that integrates these three instruments into a more coherent and convincing explanation of the case. It highlights that analysts and policy-makers would do well to focus more on how different policy tools can be used in combination to achieve desired outcomes than on how individual tools can be employed with decisive effects. It also demonstrates that the Libya success will be hard to replicate.     

Germany’s Answer to Standard Oil: The Continental Oil Company and Nazi Grand Strategy, 1940–1942

German grand strategy during World War II included making Europe independent of oil imported from sources controlled by the United Kingdom, the United States, and the USSR. The first step was to wrest control of oilfields. Producing and distributing the oil, however, required the creation of a company capable of replacing the evicted British, American, and Soviet suppliers. Therefore, in 1941, the Third Reich established the Continental Oil Company. Analysis of the company’s foundation and operations sheds light on the objectives of the Third Reich, including the postwar economic development of Axis Europe and the extension of German hegemony beyond the USSR into the Middle East.     

The EU Global Strategy and diplomacy

The new EU Global Strategy has significant implications for EU diplomacy, in terms of both goals and means. This article first analyses the timing of the strategy as an exercise in diplomacy in its own right. Second, it argues that the strategy outlines a more expansive and noticeably more smart power-oriented approach to diplomacy in practical terms. Finally, it notes that the strategy has a new meta-narrative for EU diplomacy, which seeks to project a blend of both realistic assessment and idealistic aspiration.     

China's Global Equity Oil Investments: Economic and Geopolitical Influences

In this article, we construct and analyze an original database of overseas Chinese equity oil investments (EOI) in order to assess the relative importance of economic and geopolitical factors in determining the type of countries that are most likely to receive those investments. We find that China's national oil companies (NOCs) choose to make considerable investments in certain oil rich countries while ignoring others. We develop and examine ‘economic opportunity’ and ‘geopolitical relevance’ explanations of Chinese EOI. The economic explanation assumes that Chinese oil companies operate autonomously despite the fact that they are state owned, and that they seek international experience in countries offering less competition but more risk. The geopolitical explanation suggests that Chinese equity oil investments are developed and coordinated by the central government as part of a geopolitical strategy that is designed to bypass the so-called ‘Malacca Dilemma’ and deepen security ties with oil-rich states through the conduct of oil diplomacy. We argue that Chinese EOI tends to reflect both corporate interests and government priorities, and that it generates more liabilities rather than benefits for China.     

Experimental investigations on wear properties of Palm kernel reinforced composites for brake pad applications

The use of asbestos material is being avoided to manufacture the brake pads as it is harmful and toxic in nature. Further it leads to various health issues like asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancers. These brake pads can be replaced by natural fibers like Palm kernel (0–50%), Nile roses (0–15%) and Wheat (0–10%) with additives like aluminum oxide (5%–20%) and graphite powder (10%–35%). Phenolic resin of 35% is utilized as a binder. Particulated Nile roses are used to increase the friction coefficient and wheat powder is used to reduce the wear rate. Aluminum oxide and graphite are abrasive in nature. This helps to make brake pads with high friction co-efficient and less wear rate with low noise pollution. The wear of the proposed composites have been investigated at different speeds. Various tests like wear on pin-on-disc apparatus, hardness on the Rockwell hardness apparatus and oil absorption test have been conducted. Phenolic resin produces good bonding nature to fiber. Thus, Fibers found to have performed palatably among all commercial brake pads. The objective of the research indicates that Palm kernal shell could be a conceivable alternative for asbestos in friction coating materials.     

EXAMINING ISRAEL'S NPT EXCEPTIONALITY: 1998–2005

Israel's exceptional status as a nonsignatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has been an increasingly salient issue, particularly during the intense debate over universality in the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference, and again following the Indian and Pakistani tests in 1998. This analysis argues that despite these events, Israel's diplomatic position has not weakened significantly in the past decade. The factors that have led to this outcome include changes in the political and strategic environment, including the Iraqi and Iranian NPT violations, and Israeli engagement in different fora such as the Conference on Disarmament (CD) and the United Nations, and in bilateral strategic dialogues with key powers. This report examines whether Israel's exceptional status is likely to be maintained in the face of recent developments in Iran and the precedent set by the U.S.-India nuclear cooperation agreement.