This book examines why authoritarian governments are willing to address environmental problems that have an international impact, such as CO2 emissions, but are reluctant to address problems that have only a domestic impact. In a case study of Azerbaijani oil politics, it demonstrates how the incumbent Azerbaijani regime has taken important measures trying to address CO2 emissions while ignoring the damage caused by oil pollution on the Caspian coast. The book argues that resource-rich authoritarian governments are eager to join international environmental initiatives to improve their image, but they address domestic environmental issues mainly if they threaten their hold on power.

This book is an important contribution to scholarship on environmental governance in the post-Soviet space, an area that is poorly researched. Therefore, it is a must-read for researchers and scholars interested in post-Soviet studies, as well as in the nexusbetween mineral-rich regions and how social policy is created, e.g., environment, education, and healthcare. In addition, this book will be of tremendous importance for policymakers and international organizations as it looks into the motivation of authoritarian states in the post-Soviet space for environmental measures.

Reveals the politics of asymmetric environmental governance in the post-Soviet area Finds a basis on first-hand interviews with key policy-makers and a deep study of government documents Shows how corruption weakened civil society organizations, and how path-dependent practices persist

Autorentext

Agshin Umudov is associated with the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin (Germany). Earlier, he was employed as a research assistant at the Department of European Studies and International Relations of the Qafqaz University in Baku (Azerbaijan). From 2012-2013, he worked as a project assistant at Renewables Academy (RENAC AG) in Berlin for the "TrEff -Training in Energy Efficiency" project, financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to support energy efficiency initiatives in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.

Inhalt
Chapter 1 - Research overview, context and problematization.- Chapter 2 - Overview of environmental governance in Azerbaijan.- Chapter 3 - Oil contamination: policy prioritization and un-politics of pollution?.- Chapter 4 - Corruption and weakened civil society: impact on environmental governance.- Chapter 5 - Explaining path dependent patterns in Azerbaijan's environmental governance.- Chapter 6 - Reduction of GHG emissions: a comparative success?.- Chapter 7 - International pressure and domestic legitimacy.- Chapter 8 - Discussion on Findings.- Chapter 9 - Conclusion.