Promoting conservation in India by greening coffee: A value chain approach
The Indian coffee sector is at an important transition point, increasingly stuck in the middle between quality and value segments of the market. A potential niche for India is in the development of eco- friendly (green) coffees, leveraging the natural environment and biodiversity present in many regions. In this study, we conducted a value chain assessment of the coffee sector in Coorg, a major production area in India, to identify the potential entry points and constraints to a conservation-oriented strategy of upgrading. Our results highlight that coffee value chains in Coorg are fragmented and largely uncoordinated, with innovative upgrading efforts largely individually motivated. This suggests that integrating conservation principles in a broad-based branding strategy could be difficult at the level of the chain without institutional support or the entry of chain champions. On the other hand, integrating conservation as a diversification activity e.g. through the development of butterfly gardens for tourism, could provide a low-cost way of adding value for farmers while promoting good environmental stewardship.
How does the search for energy security affect EU policies in other issue-areas? GR:EEN Policy Brief 23
This policy brief addresses the question of how the EU’s search for energy security does – or does not – affect EU policies in other areas. Due to the fact that the EU has to import energy commodities to meet its energy needs, and that coping with the challenge of energy supply is defined as one of the three main goals of the EU’s energy policy, the focus of this brief will be on the issue areas that may affect the EU’s relations with the main suppliers of energy.
Innovation, networks and energy governance: The case of shale gas, GR:EEN Policy Brief 22
This Policy Brief explores the role of technological innovation in shaping energy governance and how energy governance is being shaped by actors operating in various types of policy networks in the EU. The main aim of this brief is to explore how new technology – in this case the technology making it possible to produce gas and oil from shale deposits – is about to change the situation in the regional and global energy markets and to analyse the impact of this new technology on energy governance in the EU and in member states.
Mapping EU countries’ relationships with energy suppliers, GR:EEN European Policy Brief 28
Polish and Norwegian Governance: Closing the Gaps
The report is co-authored/co-edited by a group of Polish project team members: Krzysztof Kasianiuk, Kinga Dudzińska, Grzegorz Gałczyński,Tomasz Paszewski, Dominik Smyrgała
Linking National and European Governance: Lessons for Poland and Norway, PISM Strategic File nr.17(53)
(Co-authored/co-edited with Polish members of the project team Lidia Puka, Roderick Parkes,Agata Gostyńska, Pernille Rieker, Marta Stormowska)Influencing the EU’s governance poses both a challenge and an opportunity to mid-size countries like Poland and Norway. As an analytical approach, “experimentalist governance”—with its focus on the utility of learning in a multilevel system—should offer both countries clues about influencing the European regime. Yet, the relevance of the theory to policy areas of most interest to both countries— security, energy and migration—remains unclear. As part of the GoodGov project, this paper assesses the applicability of experimentalist learning to these three fields and highlights the need for both countries to strengthen horizontal cooperation with state and non-state actors if they are to exploit it.
International Relations Pluralism and History—Embracing Amateurism to Strengthen the Profession
This article approaches the possibility of achieving pluralist International Relations research through engagements with history/History. There are serious sociological and disciplinary challenges to achieving pluralism, most importantly related to the need to make a mark and a career in one specific discipline and the constant diversification of disciplines. Even so, drawing on the literature of amateurism, understood as engaging in an activity for the love of it, it is argued here that a spirit of engaged amateurism in dealing with history offers an important opportunity for exploring commonalities and fostering pluralism both within the discipline and across disciplinary boundaries.