Iran’s combined oil and gas reserves are the largest of any country in the world. And yet the government has long failed to generate policies that would enable the country to benefit from its huge natural resources. Some of these shortcomings are international in nature, such as sanctions. Many others are rooted in poor macroeconomic policies and populist initiatives replacing competent and realistic policy choices. Given this reality, how well, or not, is Iran placed to be able to confront the global trend away from hydrocarbons in the coming decades?
Available Now
Well over six years of Chinese anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden have directly supported People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) modernization goals and provided invaluable experience operating in distant waters. Lessons learned have spawned PLAN innovations in doctrine, operations, and international coordination. Many of the insights gleaned during deployments are applicable to security objectives closer to home; some officers enjoy promotion to important positions after returning. Anti-piracy operations have been a springboard for China to expand considerably its maritime security operations, from evacuating its citizens from Libya and Yemen to escorting Syrian chemical weapons to their destruction and participating in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. So great are the benefits to China’s global maritime presence and enhanced image at home and abroad that when Gulf of Aden anti-piracy operations finally wind down, Beijing will have to develop new
Non-Resident Scholar
Shahrokh Fardoust is a research professor at the Institute of the Theory and Practice of International Relations at the College of William and Mary. He has more than 30 years’ experience in crafting economic development policy and analyzing the global economy and prospects. From 2008 to 2011, he was director of strategy and operations for development economics at the World Bank, where he contributed to the research and policy priorities of the chief economist and ensured the operational relevance of the Bank s research.
His previous senior positions at the World Bank included senior adviser to the director-general of the Independent Evaluation Group and senior economic adviser to the senior vice president and chief economist. Dr. Fardoust also served in various technical and operational positions at the World Bank. He was a member of the core team for the World Development Report, a senior economist for Egypt, a lead economist for Pakistan, and an economic ad