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Armed violence and poverty in Chechnya: a mini case study for the Armed Violence and Poverty Initiative
YesThis report on Chechnya is one of 13 case studies (all of the case studies are available at www.bradford.ac.uk/cics). This research draws upon secondary data sources including existing research studies, reports and evaluations. The analysis and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of DFID or the UK government
Appropriate technologies for removing barriers to the expansion of renewable energy in Asia: Vertical axis wind turbines
The availability of inappropriate technologies in Asian countries has been a largely-ignored factor preventing the expansion of renewable energy in Asia. The promotion of certain expensive types of renewable energy with inbuilt deficiencies, which detract from their benefits, has served as a disincentive for switching to renewable energy on a large scale. Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs) account for the bulk of grid-connected wind turbines, but are expensive, gigantic, difficult to install, operate, repair and maintain, and require a large area of land for their operation. They need fast winds to generate power that is not available all the time and have to be shut down during strong winds that are above their "survival speed". Since they are intermittent sources of power generation, they consequently require backup generators, and these generators usually emit CO2. Given this reality, it could be concluded that wind turbines are an inappropriate means of power generation, but it is HAWTs, rather than all wind turbines, which have major negative features, making them an inappropriate choice for large-scale power generation, despite their benefits. Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are a solution, but they are not yet widely used, and their technology needs further development to address their shortcomings. VAWTs operate with slower wind speeds than the required minimum speed of HAWTs, and with very fast winds. VAWTs are much cheaper and easier to build, install, operate, repair and maintain than HAWTs, do not require a large area of land, and can be installed near each other, in between HAWTs and in urban areas. Instead of promoting HAWTs, VAWTs should be introduced to Asian countries, where they could also be used in hybrid energy systems with continuous sources of power generation such as hydro dams, and with other intermittent types of renewable energy like solar panels to address their individual intermittency. Investment in their technology should also be encouraged in order to address their shortcomings
Disintegration of the EU and the implications for ASEAN
The EU has evolved from a grouping of six Western European countries with stated economic objectives to a large regional organization of now 27 European countries pursuing a wide range of political, economic, social, environmental, and security objectives, while the majority of the other European countries are associated with it or aspire to join it. The EU has been promoted as the main successful case of regional integration to be emulated by other regions. However, while its integration has been quite impressive, various developments have indicated the possibility of its disintegration. The threat of disintegration from within makes it even more worrisome as it reflects the growing discontent in some of its members with the way the EU is run under the leadership of its heavyweights (France and Germany), added to the EU's unfulfilled promises of growth, prosperity, and equality for all its members. Brexit ended a taboo and showed a way out of the EU for the dissatisfied EU members that will not likely be repeated in the foreseeable future. However, there are other possible scenarios for disintegration, including the degeneration of the EU into a loose regional grouping of convenience where its members take advantage of its benefits while pursuing their own national interests and following the EU's rules only when they serve their interests. ASEAN is much younger than the EU and has not sought, in practice, the same objectives pursued by the latter, although it has targeted regional integration in Southeast Asia. There is a degree of similarity in the circumstances under which the two regional groupings were established, but there are also various differences between the two regions. In a nutshell, ASEAN is a loose organization of 10 members who work together in certain areas of common interest, while mainly focused on their national objectives. Unlike the EU, it does not operate as a power bloc and contains a number of unresolved issues, which could pit its members against each other as they have done before. Consequently, if the EU, despite 70 years of planned integration with a significant degree of success, is not immune to disintegration, then ASEAN with its still insignificant degree of integration is surely vulnerable to such a possibility, unless it seriously initiates a process to address its root causes before it is too late
The role of renewable energy in resolving energy insecurity in Asia
Energy security implies the availability, affordability, applicability, plausibility and acceptability of countries' energy supply. Implying the sustainability of countries' energy supplies, energy insecurity is widespread across Asia. Southeast Asia (SEA) serves as an example for Asia's energy insecurity. Notwithstanding efforts to expand its share of renewable energy (renewables), fossil energy dominates the regional energy mix. Various factors have created obstacles for the expansion of renewables in SEA, prolonging this environmentally unsustainable situation. Their addressing demands a comprehensive approach to ensure the energy requirements of the regional countries and also their social and economic development in determining their choice of energy. Singapore and the Philippines serve as good examples of energy insecurity in SEA, having fossil energy-dominated energy mixes. Expanding the share of renewables in their energy mixes demands different plans linked to their sustainable development, which is true for the rest of SEA. However, achieving this objective demands different routes, given their differences in terms of the availability, affordability, applicability, plausibility and acceptability of energy, particularly those of environmentally clean renewables. It necessitates sustainable energy to make such renewables a necessity whose local production could serve as an engine for economic development while simultaneously ending their energy insecurity