Norway’s prime minister Erna Solberg’s brand of conservatism is typically Norwegian: progressive, inclusive and pragmatic. These qualities will be vital in the future as the oil-rich nation considers alternatives to the…
Ghana is drilling for oil. Apartments are going up, the educated diaspora is returning and the government has a plan to avoid the “resource curse” seen in places such as Nigeria. In Accra the mood is optimistic and the…
Dubai and its neighbours have come to believe that even seven-star luxury and tax-free sunshine can seem stale without culture. Monocle visits Art Dubai to see who’s buying and ask if an oil state can reinvent itself as a…
Long favoured by expatriates for its blissfully tax-free take on earnings, the oil-rich UAE is considering the introduction of a VAT scheme to lessen the deficit caused by falling commodity prices. The move may rile expats…
Cakes made with olive oil aren’t just the preserve of modern-day master bakers: they have been rising to the occasion for centuries. Here at Monocle we like to take the occasional break to sample a slice of something ind…
Norway currently ranks as one of the world's most energy rich nations and boasts one of the biggest social funds as a result. Estimated to be hovering around the $300 billion mark, it has helped the country create a stan…
They might not make headlines, but there are numerous border disputes that could spark a crisis at any time (although we hope Canada and the US would avoid war over their quarrel regarding lobster-rich waters). Monocle…
Arbil in Iraqi Kurdistan has escaped the worst of the war raging across the rest of the country. Its new airport, coupled with burgeoning trade, offer hope for this one corner of a ravaged nation.
Houston, in oil-rich Texas, isn’t a city you might associate with progressive or green credentials. And yet its inhabitants have just re-elected Annise Parker, a liberal who has put renewable energy firmly on the agenda,…
In the far north of Canada the frontier lifestyle is still alive and kicking – and nowhere more so than in Yellowknife. First they struck gold, then diamonds, and now there’s gas. But today those frontier folk are just as…
For the first in a new series on outposts of opportunity we visit Stanley, capital of the Falkland Islands, the British territory best known for sheep and its 1982 war with Argentina. Now oil and tourists are making this…
Mongolia is rich in raw materials and is thought to have huge oil reserves: resources that its neighbour China – with which it shares a rocky relationship – needs. The dust-bowl capital, Ulan Bator, is already flourishing…
What lies beneath the surface of Greenland could bring enormous wealth to the island. But it threatens both the traditional way of life and the centuries-old link to Denmark.