Decade Forecast: The Downsizing Of Pax Americana

This about Futurism, tagged , , , , , , , was written by for on May 14, 2011 .14 Comments

This is the first post in a series of three, in which I will analyze the major trends that will define the next ten years and their likely impacts on global regions. To put these forecasts into context, I must first describe the narrative through which I view the history of the post-WW2 era (the […]

China, The Last Superpower

This about Futurism, tagged , , , , , was written by for on February 7, 2010 .14 Comments

After two hundred years of global ascendancy, the West is in rapid relative decline to (re)emerging Asia, which is mounting a steady “Great Reconvergence”. Likewise, the legitimacy of today’s “neoliberal internationalist” order promoted by the West is being questioned by the more statist, neo-Westphalian visions of the leaders of the Rest, the so-called BRIC’s. This has already […]

References: Peak Oil And Resource Depletion (up to 2010)

This about Futurism, tagged , , , , was written by for on November 30, 2009 .2 Comments

Although I have several articles on the threats posed to industrial civilization by runaway global warming and ecological degradation on Sublime Oblivion (see 1, 2, 3, 4, 5), I have yet to cover the Charybdis of resource depletion in as much detail (1, 2, 3, 4). As such, I have assembled many links to relevant […]

Book Review: Vaclav Smil – Global Catastrophes and Trends

This about Futurism, tagged , , , , , was written by for , on September 28, 2009 .3 Comments

Smil, Vaclav – Global Catastrophes and Trends (2008) Category: futurism, climate change, geopolitics, catastrophes; Rating: 5/5 Summary: Google Books Vaclav Smil, an energy theorist and language connoisseur, brings his talents to bear on this idiosyncratic, incisive and balanced book on the global future. From the outset, he outlines his skepticism in universal theories of history […]

The Great Debate

This about Economy, tagged , , , was written by for on October 14, 2008 .3 Comments

Just wanted to point out there is an on-going four-way debate at Streetwise Professor‘s blog between him, commentator Michel, myself and (at times) Timothy Post. In SWP’s words, it is about “(a) the breadth of Russian prosperity, (b) its dependence on oil prices, and (c) the likely future course of oil prices” and despite the […]

News 2 May: Russia’s Second Oil Peak

This about Economy, tagged , , , was written by for on April 25, 2008 .5 Comments

For all the noise being made this month about Georgia, about NATO, about Tibet, etc, possibly the most portentous is that it seems Russia hit its oil peak (strictly speaking, its second – the first happened in 1987), well in line with peakist predictions. Production increases via application of new technology, as seen in the […]

Annals of Resurgent Russia – CIA World Factbook 2008

This about Economy, tagged , , was written by for on January 23, 2008 .15 Comments

The 2008 version of the CIA World Factbook has been published. While the demographic data has not been updated, new economic estimates have been published for 2007. Firstly, let’s take a look at the basics. Russia’s GDP is now estimated at 2076bn $ in 2007, up from 1723bn $ in 2006. This is not just […]

News 14 Jan

This about Politics, tagged , , , was written by for on January 14, 2008 .2 Comments

President Putin’s visit to Bulgaria to bring pipeline deal, NPP contract A new company is being created, in which Russia will own a 51% stake, to build a pipeline to carry Russian oil via the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas and Greece’s Alexandroupolis on the Aegean, so as to bypass the congested Bosporus. It […]

News 11 Jan

This about Politics, tagged , , , , was written by for on January 11, 2008 .3 Comments

Net capital inflow into Russia hit $82.3 bln in 2007 MOSCOW, January 11 (RIA Novosti) – Net capital inflow into Russia reached a record $82.3 billion in 2007, almost double the previous year’s figure, the Central Bank announced on Friday. In 2006 the figure was $42 billion. In the last three months of 2007, net […]

News 10 Jan

This about Politics, tagged , , , , was written by for on January 10, 2008 .No Comments

Russian moves to ban tobacco advertising MOSCOW, January 10 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian government has decided to completely ban tobacco advertizing, by signing up to a World Health Organization anti-smoking convention. In its first session of the year, the government approved a draft law on joining the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), […]