MenuOn March 19th, 2023, Kazakhstan held competitive elections for its lower house – the Mazhilis – to decide the political direction of the young democracy established after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite some reported problems, the parliamentary elections were the freest in the country’s history and a vital step forward for Kazakhstan’s democratization and political pluralism. Continue reading
Category Archives: Energy Security
Protecting America’s Power Grids From EMP Attacks
The possibility of such an attack is growing as EMP technology is evolving. The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from EMP Attacks,alongside military officials,warned years ago of the possibility of balloon-based EMP attacks. Given that our grid infrastructure is weak, aging, and lacks resilience, EMP attacks could become the choice weapons of
Bipartisan Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism – A Political Unicorn?
A Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) allows a country to impose a price on carbon emitted during the production of goods in the country of origin as import fees, thus incentivizing greener manufacturing. This has been a perennial aspiration of environmentalists for decades that once languished in obscurity but is now rapidly becoming policy. Now,
Energy Diplomacy Isn’t Helping Russia In Africa
Concerns over food security and dependency on Russian foodstuffs force African states to remain distant from the conflict. Now in addition to this food dependency, Russia has begun augmenting its diplomatic playbook in Africa with changes in its energy diplomacy and military power projection. Continue reading here.
A Scramble For African Energy
Wars often change the course of history – that’s a cliché. But it is also a truth. Before the war in Ukraine, the European Union was resolute in its green evangelism. Now the 27-member bloc is waking up to a harsh reality. The strategy of relying on Russian energy to avoid Middle Eastern quagmires and
Cryptocurrencies & Blockchain Make Inroads Into Energy Markets, For Good And For Bad
In June, the FBI warned the public of a LinkedIn scam where users were lured into making significant investments in fraudulent cryptocurrencies. After trust was established, victims were convinced to move investments to controlled sites before they had their accounts drained. This cyber scam was only notable for how stolen cash was subsequently used: purchasing sanctioned oil.
Biden’s Saudi Adventure: An Oil Strategy Failure And Beyond
Since the historic meeting between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Saudi Arabia’s founder King Abdulaziz aboard the USS Quincy in 1945, America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has always been transactional: oil for security. Over the past fifteen years, ever since the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, the perceived failure of both sides to honor their
Winter Is Coming. Energy Solutions Are Not.
A grim outlook was presented to European leaders and energy executives by the International Energy Agency (IEA) at its annual energy efficiency conference in Copenhagen on June 8th. Europe is unprepared for the coming winter. Governments across Europe have the difficult task of both finding the required energy for winter and relieving consumers of the burden posed
European Energy Crisis Spurs Maritime Fueling Innovation
On Tuesday, average oil prices fell below $100 per barrel for the first time since April. Lockdowns in China, rising inflation rates, and troubling signs of a recession weigh heavily on oil markets causing the price decline. Against the backdrop of the Russian war in Ukraine, disruptions in oil and gas distribution exacerbated by sanctions and measures to choke supply by OPEC+ have
To Cap Or Not To Cap: G7’S Overambitious Plan To Punish Russian Oil And Alter The Future Of Oil Markets
On June 28th, leaders of the G7 announced that they agreed to explore the possibility of imposing a price cap on Russian oil to reduce Moscow’s energy revenues. While many view this as political exigency or a futile return to price controls, the truth is far more complex — with reverberations beyond the war in Ukraine or