Abstract
The paper broadly looks at the implications of the relationship that has been building for a while between Russia and Venezuela. The paper explores the political and economic implications of such a relationship, how the world views it and the implications of China buying oil from Venezuela, the implications this relationship has on US/Russian ties, is the leader of the oil rich nation now emboldened, how the relationship benefits both Russia and Venezuela and finally what impact it has on Latin America's regional stability.

From the Paper
"The focus of this research paper is to broadly look at the implications of the relationship that has been building for a while between Russia and Venezuela. In this report we will be looking at the political and economic implications of such a relationship, how the world views it and the implications of China buying oil from Venezuela, the implications this relationship has on US/Russian ties, is the leader of the oil rich nation now emboldened, how the relationship benefits both Russia and Venezuela..."

Tags:russia, venezuela, us

Abstract
This paper provides extensive information on Venezuela's economics, including natural resources, oil, products, imports, exports, money, industry, and distribution, among other statistics. The paper emphasized, however, importance of oil in the country's economy.

From the Paper
"Venezuela is a country rich in natural resources, oil, natural gas, iron ore, coal bauxite, gold, water and timber wood. Of all of its industries, oil is the most important. The Petrleos de Venezuela, the world'sthird largest oil company and full owner of CITGO, is Venezuela's nationally owned company that rules the industry and serving as the United States' fourth largest oil supplier. Venezuela was one of the founding members of..."

Tags:Venezuela, economics, natural resources, oil, products, imports, exports, money, industry, distribution

Abstract
This paper examines the current situation with Venezuela, the oil reserves being offered to the US by Chavez, the past history of US involvement in Venezuela and military intervention to preserve petroleum interests. This paper also looks at Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine as an example of controlling US interests in Latin America.

From the Paper
"The week before hurricane Katrina hit the US coast, when gas prices were already high and showing no signs of coming back down, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez offered to sell "gasoline and heating fuel" to the US poor for a reduced price ("Chavez offers cheap gas to poor in U.S."). According to the federal government, the US imports 1,292,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela per day, more than twice as much as from Iraq, and only less than Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia ("Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries"). The relationship between the US and Venezuela has been reported as tense recently, with rumors of US warships heading their direction for a NATO-led attack, and religious-right Pat Robertson demanding the assassination of Chavez ("Chavez: U.S., NATO planning an attack"). "

Tags:venezuela, oil, history

Abstract
In this paper, the writer states the policies of Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela and discusses his obvious abuse of power and their repercussions not only on America and the world but also on Venezuela itself. The writer discusses how Hugo Chavez's vision of utopia can lead Venezuela's economy into a terrible crisis. The writer concludes that such utopia could end in further unemployment and poverty, since the country's major earning is through oil production which itself faces upheaval, not to mention the overburdening of economies of America and the world.

Contents:
Abstract
New Policies of Hugo Chavez
Chavez' Utopia
Illegitimacy of the Actions of Chavez
Conclusion

From the Paper
"What Chavez is actually trying to do is shift the customer base of P.D.V.S.A., the oil company owned by the state of Venezuela towards Asia where the increasingly oil-thirsty China would welcome it. This would make Venezuela less dependent on US and other neighboring states. Chavez has signed a deal to build oil and gas pipelines between Maracaibo Basin in Venezuela and the Caribbean and Pacific coasts in Colombia which would enable him to ship petroleum to China without using the Panama canal. This would allow him to cut deliveries to those who oppose him and hence forcing them into seeking other sources of oil at of course greater costs. As if this was not enough; Chavez has also announced plans to annul all mining concessions, which were previously granted to private companies. The state mining corporation of the country Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana, CVG, is reviewing many of its contracts and each of them would be modified according to the new laws."

Tags:oil, mining, utopia, policies

Abstract
This paper discusses that, after a two-month long oil strike, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is assuring voters and foreign investors that the Venezuelan economy is on track to rebound but economic; but, geopolitical indicators point to a prolonged aftershock for Venezuela and the region. The author points out that the country's overdependence on oil has overexposed the economy to the high volatility in oil prices and the resultant "booms and busts" of the oil industry cycle. The paper reveals another problem: Chavez' s handling of the strike risks tarnishing Venezuela's reputation as one of the regions more stable democracies.

From the Paper
"Venezuela is also in the midst of a difficult restructuring of its foreign debt, which totals $23 billion, leaving it less flexibility in the use of its reserves. President Chavez stated at the end of March that the country would be able meet its $2 billion in foreign debt obligations in 2003 and stave off any defaults. An important component of the foreign debt refinancing is the country's intention to issue a voluntary bond swap. A credit default would jeopardize the security exchange and could trigger further defaults."

Tags:strike, rebound, dependency, debt, volatility

Abstract
Venezuela has traditionally exhibited more peace and inner tranquility than its South American neighbors. It is one of the few South American governments in which the military exerts no influence on public policy. It is also very prosperous as compared to its neighbors, with the bulk of its wealth coming from its rich oil resources. Venezuela has been a stable democratic regime since the late 1950s, which also makes it an anomaly among other South American countries. However, Venezuela's peace and security should not be construed to mean that it has no security concerns. Venezuela has important resources that it must protect, radicals that it must keep in check, and politically unstable neighbors that it must continually guard against. This paper examines Venezuelan national security policy and makes specific recommendations as to what policies Venezuela should follow based on its particular national security concerns.

From the Paper
"Venezuela's location near major drug production centers and its vast jungles capable of hiding drug production operations make the illegal drug trade a major problem for Venezuela. Columbia, which is Venezuela's neighbor, is a major producer of cocaine, and cocaine producers in that country regularly transport their illegal products through Venezuela. This is because Venezuela has a long coastline bordering the Caribbean Sea, making it an ideal location from which to ship out the cocaine to international destinations. The fact that drug producers are using Venezuela as a shipping-off point for their products is of great concern. The presence of these drug producers in our country puts our citizens in danger. Drug producers and traffickers are not known for their peaceful qualities, and encounters with these people may result in harm to our citizens, especially if the traffickers believe our people are interfering in their activities. Some of our citizens may also be susceptible to being drawn into the drug trade from contact with the drug traffickers."

Tags:national, drug, trafficking

From the Paper
"EFFECTS ON VENEZUELA OF THE GLOBALIZATION OF TRADE & INVESTMENT
Introduction
This research examines the effects on Venezuela of the continuing globalization of trade and investment. In addition to the impact on the country of the global operations of multinational firms, the issue of regional trading blocs involving Venezuela is considered

Venezuela: Vital Statistics
Venezuela covers a land area of 912,050 square kilometers, of which only 4.4 percent is cultivated. The country's population in 1992 was 20.2 million, with a population growth rate of 2.4 percent annually. The country is highly urbanized, with 84 percent of the population residing in cities of 100,000 persons or larger. Venezuelans are predominantly Roman.."

Abstract
This paper explains that corruption and dissatisfaction with the Venezuela democratic government brought Hugo Chavez to power. The author underscores that, because of Chavez's hostility towards the United States and the dependency of the U.S. on Venezuelan oil, an alternative to the current state of affairs between the US and Venezuela must be developed. The paper explores several possible alternatives to the current state of affairs between Venezuela and the United States, all carry differing costs and benefits the United States. These include using an oil embargo against Venezuela, which would severely affect the popularity of Chavez's government by cutting the funding for several of his popular social programs, developing anti-Chavez, pro-U.S. sentiment in the region of Latin America in an effort to use multilateral cooperation to control Chavez and his foreign policy agendam, and ignoring Chavez's anti-U.S. rhetoric and developing bilateral relations dealing with several issues of mutual concern. The paper concludes that the best alternative is using multilateral support to control Chavez, which has both the greatest benefit and the lowest cost and could help U.S. and Latin American relations in the future.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
History
Development of Alternative Approaches
Cost Benefit Analysis of Alternatives
Recommendation and Justification
Executive Summary

From the Paper
"Costs to developing this alternative are relatively few and would only significantly affect American policy in the Latin American region with relatively little impact on domestic issues. While the turbulent history of U.S.-Latin American relations have led to a large amount of hostility and suspicion on the part of Latin American governments towards any American involvement in the region, such a low opinion of the United States must change in order to develop the regional support necessary to control Chavez."

Tags:dependency oil anti-american rhetoric, multilateral support

Abstract
This research paper focuses on the transition to modern life and its consequences in Venezuela pertaining to social values. More specifically, the paper examines the impact modernization has had on the educational, political, religious, economic stratification and social aspects of Venezuelan society.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Era of Growth
Venezuela's Transition - Myth or Reality?
Development of Venezuelan Society
Social Values
Friendship and Trust
Hierarchy and Leadership
Masculine Personality Ideals
Education
Population Trends and Effects on the Social Structure

From the Paper
"Industrialization and increasing economic complexity, population mobility, and urbanization have all tended to erode the bases on which man-to-man trust can be established. This was apparent specifically across class lines. In the large cities the quality of everyday life has become mostly objectified. Similarly, large foreign-based corporations on which many Venezuelans depend for their living provide scant basis for the development of patron -retainer links (Herring, 75). The values of the relationship persist, nevertheless, and many are adapted to the new social and economic order. The paternalistic employer or landowner who cared for his retainers and gave them advice and a measure of security is disappearing from the social scene."

Tags:postwar, success, democratization, socioeconomic, argentina, brazil, chile, oil, discovery

Abstract
This paper studies the democratization processes and outcomes in four countries: Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The paper employs a multi-unit comparison. The paper begins by looking at economic issues that shape the current geopolitical situation and process of democratization, examining, specifically the effect of oil wealth of the Middle East. Next the paper discusses several key variables such as national and religious culture, political structure and geographic location. The paper concludes by comparing and contrasting Muslim/Eastern and Western views.

From the Paper
"The research problem to be addressed centers upon the relationship between democratization and the economic system of the so-called renter state, specifically focusing on those states..."

Tags:democratization, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela