Description: Guaranteeing energy security is one of the most complex challenges of energy law and policy. Energy insecurity threatens economic development, social peace and stability. This book focuses on energy security in the strategically important region of Central Asia. The region holds huge energy reserves, but its energy systems are highly inefficient and unreliable, and thus require urgent reform. However, endemic corruption, discrimination and the strong centralization of power have so far blocked initiatives to reorganize energy supply. The case of Central Asia is uniquely relevant for understanding the informal constraints on energy law and policy. In addition, Central Asian energy insecurity illustrates the impact of geopolitics on the regulation of energy markets. The region is strategically located in Russia's sphere of influence and along China's New Silk Road. Its energy situation highlights the complex interactions amongst energy law, geopolitics and institutions.
Brief description: Anatole Boute is an Associate Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong specializing in energy law. He has extensive working and academic experience in the Eurasian energy markets (Russia, Central Asia, EU and China), including advisory work for the major development banks. He is the author of Russian Electricity and Energy Investment Law (2015).
Review Quotes: 'The geopolitics of the New Silk Road culminate in Central Asia, a region that is key to China's outward resource strategy. Anatole Boute excels in navigating a historically and politically highly complex region. Linking geopolitics back to markets and regulatory governance, the book is also a key reference point for anyone interested in energy politics in Central Asia.' Andreas Goldthau, Royal Holloway, University of London