SERHAN ÜNAL

  My new book " Neoliberal Transformation of Electricity: International Political Economy of the Turkish Case " has been published by Palgrave Macmillan, on May 3, 2023. This book makes a structural analysis of the neoliberal restructuring in the global electricity industry. The book shows that the electricity liberalisation in different countries is just a reflection of the same structural trend in the global economy and avoids from both narrow country-specific and abstract global approaches by making a structural analysis completed by a case study. Thus, it aims reaching wider conclusions about how global changes in finance and ideology / knowledge structures influence domestic energy and economic policy preferences of developing countries. The book develops a taxonomy about organising principles around which the electricity industry has been structured historically and globally, and reveals drivers of change which influences the current energy transition in the electricity...

Although the discovery of huge hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean has created a significant opportunity for a solution to the Cyprus question, energy alone may not be enough for a solution. There are two reasons behind: Firstly, the current situations on both sides of the island are still economically and politically sustainable; secondly, the conditions that required the partition of Cyprus in the first place are still valid to a degree. Deteriorating Turkey-EU relations also work against a solution.

Despite the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey, Russia may not choose politicizing its energy card against Turkey. In the long run, it is wiser for Russia to resort to non-energy economic sanctions.

Despite the new Iran nuclear deal, Iranian gas may not flow to Europe through Turkey even if the sanctions are lifted. There are several reasons for this.

Developments over the last few months, particularly Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Ankara, have paved Turkey’s path to becoming a regional energy center. Indeed, this is more like the utilization of the idle capacity that Turkey has. In this sense, the country seems to be starting the year by translating its full potential into actual energy influence, playing the energy game better. If it maintains its current ambitious strategy to develop the necessary physical, ideational and institutional capacity, 2015 could be the key year.

Turkish-Iranian relations continue to influence as well as to be influenced by the transformations in the national, regional, and international contexts. In this process, bilateral relations between the two states are evolving both in substance and style to display new characteristics of cooperation and competition. The fundamental dynamic to determine the nature of this relational evolution is the salience of economic issues, which have come to dominate the bilateral agenda and dictate the terms of engagement between Turkey and Iran to a great extent. Nonetheless, concomitant with economic issues acquiring rather decisive influence on bilateral relations, three asymmetries have become discernible that need to be addressed for a politically safe and economically sound relationship.

Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) can produce the wind pretty much needed for Turco-Armenian rapprochement. Earthquake in Japan and following tsunami caused severe incidents. Among them, the nuclear melt-down risk in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is one that may have world-wide effects and one of those effects can be creation of the needed wind to push forward Turco-Armenian relations by building confidence over the similar risky status of the only NPP in Armenia, Metsamor. Metsamor NPP was built in 1979 and was closed after 1988 earthquake in Armenia. However, after fall of the Soviet Union, on the following years of Azeri-Armenian War on Karabakh, it was re-commissioned by Yerevan in 1995, to meet increasing energy demand. Metsamor NPP, uses the first generation technology and is called as “the oldest and the least secure” NPP among the existing NPPs, by the European Union (EU). It is just more or less 20 kilometres away from the Turco-Armenian border and does face w...