Commonwealth of Independent State: Energy Security & Development

Ajay Patnaik & Anuradha M Chenoy

The Commonwealth of Independent States [CIS], consisting of the former Soviet Republics, is a region where energy resources and geopolitics have drawn international attention. A range of issues varying from energy issues at the international and local level, policies of states that impact on energy security and also on broader security issues have been discussed by eminent scholars from India and abroad, who also deal with the strategic environment, power rivalries and security architecture in the CIS. Given the pluralities within the region, there are multiple conflicts based on ethnic, religious and geopolitical discontents, making the region susceptible to rivalries and conflicts. At the same time, globalisation and economic liberalisation have influenced state policies and human/social developments in the former Soviet republics. Some of the articles deal with such issues as demography, religion, identity, resource-sharing, mass media, etc. The CIS region, which lies in the extended neighbourhood of India, has had longstanding ties with the subcontinent in the past. The developments in this region have immense security implications for India. In view of India’s rapidly increasing energy requirements, the region could also be an alternate source of energy. The last section of the book mainly discusses the relations of the countries of the CIS with India and the South Asian region.

Ajay Patnaik & Anuradha M Chenoy Dr. Ajay Patnaik is Professor and former Chairperson in the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies of the School of International Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He has authored three books - Nations, Minorities and States in Central Asia (2003), Central Asia: Between Modernity and Tradition (1996), and, Perestroika and Women Labour Force in Soviet Central Asia (1989). His other works include two edited volumes, Commonwealth of Independent States, Problems and Prospects (1995) and Russian Civilization (2007). Visiting Scholar in the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cambridge (1992-93), Exchange Scholar of the Indian Council for Social Sciences Research (ICSSR) at the Institute of Ethnography, Moscow (1999) and Visiting Solanki Professor and Scholar in Residence (2006) at Yadunandan Centre for Indian Studies, California State University, USA, Prof. Patnaik is also the Executive Editor of the Journal Contemporary Central Asia.
Dr. Anuradha M. Chenoy is Professor in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi. She works on International Relations, Russia, Central Asia and Gender issues. She has been the Chairperson and Director of the Area Studies Programme for Russia and Central Asia, SIS, JNU. She has authored a number of books and articles including Human Security: Concept and Implications, (Coauthored with Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh, January 2006, Routledge, UK); Militarism and Women in South Asia, (Kali Books, New Delhi, 2001) and The Making of New Russia, (Har Anand Publishers, New Delhi, 2001).