You may have to register before you can download all our books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
In light of the rapid fluctuations in oil prices and subsequent impact on the stability and economic perspectives of energy producing and energy importing states in the Western Hemisphere, this book stresses the urgency to integrate sustainability at the very core of national energy security strategies. From Canada to Argentina, this edited volume analyzes a series of case studies and diverging paradigms across the continent. It underlines how the relatively recent exploitation of unconventional energy sources in North America and the resulting impact on prices impact the geopolitical concerns of traditional producers. It also explains how much energy strategies are central to the developmen...
This book explores the complex relationship between grand strategy and energy security by conducting a focused, comparative study on the United States and China. By including energy security as a component of grand strategy, the author is able to present an analysis of the complex, multifaceted approaches large consuming states take to secure their critical energy supplies. Inclusion of energy as part of the core strategic agenda increases explanatory power and provides insights as to how states may elect to pursue supply security under times of greater scarcity, or increased conflict. A ranking system is also developed, allowing a more systematic approach to inform this qualitative study.
This edited volume examines the impacts of the 2014-2015 decline in the price of oil. Participants will examine the economic, social and political consequences on states and regions, along with their responses. The following questions will be examined: what were the impacts for countries experiencing an energy revolution in shale and gas like the United States and Canada? What were the repercussions of the collapse on other states of the Western hemisphere dependent on oil for growth and development; countries like Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico? Were these outcomes similar to those experiences in other parts of world like Nigeria, Russia and other petro-producing countries? How do developin...
Supply chain management helped companies to manage volumes, fulfil customer demand and optimize costs in production and distribution. Specifically, chemical industry companies with high complexity in production and distribution used supply chain management to steer their operations. Confronted with globalization and increasing raw material and sales price volatility, optimizing supply chain costs is no longer sufficient to ensure the overall profitability of the business. Value chain management takes supply chain management to the next level by integrating all volume and value decisions from sales to procurement. The book presents the value chain management concept and demonstrates how it is applied in a global value chain planning model for commodities in the chemical industry. A comprehensive industry case study illustrates the effects of decision making integration, e.g. the influence of raw material prices or exchange rates on optimal sales, production, distribution and procurement plans as well as overall company profitability.
This volume examines the relationship between states and organized crime. It seeks to add to the theoretical literature for analyzing the criminalization of the state. The volume also explores the nature of organized crime in countries throughout the Americas from Central America to the Southern Cone.
This book intelligently weaves together China and the EU's policy in Africa and the impact of this interaction on Africa's future. A much needed insight into how the interaction between the three holds the key to solving one of the world's most challenging issues.
Many countries throughout Latin America have experienced high levels of corruption, drug trafficking, and violence, which has created elements of fragility. The book is comprises case studies that explore the nature of violence in countries throughout the region. Moreover, it seeks to address some of the ways in which governments have sought to address violence. The cases examined in this volume are quite diverse, illustrating different types of violence as all of the countries in Latin America are not the same. Countries like Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico have high levels of drug trafficking and organized crime. Strategies designed to combat drug trafficking organizat...
Rather than reducing criminality, prisons in Latin America drive crime by creating the conditions for its growth.
Transnational Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean: From Evolving Threats and Responses to Integrated, Adaptive Solutions provides a comprehensive overview of and introduction to transnational organized crime in Latin America for the student and practitioner. It addresses the geography of illicit activities, including relationships between source, transit, and consumption zones, as well as illicit activities beyond narcotrafficking, such as illegal mining, contraband, human smuggling, and money laundering. It applies a typology of cartels, intermediate groups, gangs, and ideological groups to examine specific criminal organizations and the relationships between them. It makes a comparative assessment of government approaches to combatting transnational organized crime in the region, including discussions of interagency coordination, interdiction, targeting of criminal group leaders, the use of the military in law enforcement, law enforcement reform efforts, prison control, and international cooperation. It concludes by applying these thorough analyses to make concrete recommendations for both Latin American and United States policymakers.
Governance in South America is signified by strategies pursued by state and non-state actors directed to enhancing (some aspect of) their capabilities and powers of agency. It is about the spaces and the practices available, demanded or created to ‘make politics happen’. This framework lends explanatory power to understand how governance has been defined and practiced in South America. Pía Riggirozzi and Christopher Wylde bring together leading experts to explore what demands and dilemmas have shaped understanding and practice of governance in South America in and across the region. The Handbook suggests that governance dilemmas of inequitable and unfulfilled political economic governan...