At the beginning of 2014, Japan experienced the deadliest volcanic eruption on its territory in over a century. The unpredictable nature of the event reignited fears of the risks of nuclear power plants. 

After denying Russian intervention in Crimea, President Putin ultimately recognized that it indeed happened and then used fallacious arguments to justify it. 

The process of European enlargement has been officially suspended for five years. Yet in the western Balkans it is rapprochement with Europe that publicly underpins the majority of political policy.

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are often presented as an effective instrument for managing hydrocarbon rents, reducing the impact of the volatility of oil or gas revenues on the economy, separating expenditure from income, and promoting a more transparent management of the rent. 

Nigeria is entering a new electoral cycle, holding its sixth general elections since the restoration of civilian rule in 1999. The elections were initially scheduled for February 14 (presidential elections) and 28 (governorship elections), 2015. The first round has now been postponed until March 28. The issue of the threat posed to Nigeria by Boko Haram is not, as one might expect, at the heart of the debate surrounding the presidential campaign in the country. Nevertheless, the peculiar security context in which the forthcoming elections will take place, as well as the changes under way in Nigeria's political landscape, make this vote unique. It is therefore essential to analyze the various issues at stake in the country's sixth general elections.

In 2014, Germany’s relations with Russia markedly deteriorated. The decline was precipitous but it did not occur suddenly. It began some time before Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the Kremlin’s support for separatism and thinly concealed military intervention in eastern Ukraine.

Lead Authors:  Christophe McGlade, Steve Pye (UCL)
Authoring Team: Carole Mathieu (Ifri); Željko Jurić, Marko Matosović (EIHP)
Reviewer: Paul Deane (UCC)

Since 2010, the United States has been undergoing a second shale revolution with the very rapid development of Light Tight Oil (LTO) or shale oil, following the revolution in shale gas. This development has allowed the production of oil and liquids to increase, so that the US is the world’s largest producer today, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia.