Jeff D. Colgan

Este archivo solo abarca los artículos del autor incorporados a este sitio a partir del 1 de octubre de 2006. Para fechas anteriores realice una búsqueda entrecomillando su nombre.

A gas turbine power plant in Drogenbos, Belgium, December 2022. Yves Herman / Reuters

EuropaUnión EuropeaEconomía

Before he began dropping bombs on Kyiv in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared for his invasion of Ukraine in a quieter way. He restricted energy exports to Europe in late 2021, driving up prices across the continent. After the invasion, Putin restricted exports even more, putting European countries in a bind: should they fund the Russian war effort by buying fossil fuels at elevated prices, or risk losing critical energy flows at a time when stocks were already depleted? As countries began banning Russian oil imports and trying to cap the worldwide price of Russian oil, energy prices in Europe skyrocketed, with natural gas prices peaking at ten times their prewar average.…  Seguir leyendo »

Europa, , ,

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has set off a flood of speculation about his motives. Myriad factors — including perceptions of Russia’s historical ties to Ukraine and regional security concerns — probably drive his ambitions. But Russia’s personalist domestic politics and its oil and gas wealth also contributed to this aggression.

Putin the personalist

Putin’s Russia is no democracy, but autocracies come in many flavors. Our research has found that when it comes to decisions about military conflict, a key question is how much power is concentrated in the hands of a single leader.

Some non-democracies feature a form of collective rule in which elites share power.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaEuropa, , , ,

Editor’s note: In light of the news that President Trump is interested in purchasing Greenland, we asked Jeff Colgan to update his piece on toxic waste and climate change.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in buying Greenland. Trump is reportedly interested in the territory’s national resources and usefulness to the U.S. military.

But there’s something lurking beneath Greenland’s icy surface that Trump may want to know about: toxic nuclear waste, left over from the Cold War, that may be exposed by climate change that is melting ice at a rapid rate.

What’s more, the United States may owe Denmark — the country Trump would presumably have to make a deal with to buy Greenland — money to pay for the environmental cleanup.…  Seguir leyendo »

A penguin stands on an iceberg in Yankee Harbour, Antarctica, in February. (Reuters)

ReflexionesNaturaleza

The Monday release of a U.N. special report on limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius confirms what a long, hot summer of fire and storms has already told us. We’re not doing enough to combat climate change. Today, the 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science went to two economists, William D. Nordhaus and Paul M. Romer, whose work on economic growth and climate change helped change the way we think about climate economics.

Climate politics are also changing, from a contest of who wins and loses to one of survival for communities and ways of life. This shift will require new approaches.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Canadian flag. The country is celebrating its 150th birthday. (Brent Lewin/Bloomberg)

MundoAmérica

Canada turns 150 years old today. Let’s admit that it is enjoying a bit of a moment.

It is a prosperous and free country. It has a government that works. Crime and corruption are rare. The economy weathered the 2008 financial crisis with minimal damage. With plans to ramp up clean energy and a commitment to legalize marijuana in 2018, Canada’s reputation is changing from boring to kind of cool.

Canada’s warm welcome for more than 25,000 Syrian refugees also won it global praise, especially when contrasted with the U.S. response. The Canadian way to settle refugees, in which groups of individuals raise money privately and take responsibility for the refugees’ first year in Canada, has become a model for other countries.…  Seguir leyendo »