MenuEarlier this month, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties after seven years and signed a China-brokered agreement in what is being termed a breakthrough deal for the region. How does this impact and alter America’s geopolitical stature in the region? What are the first and second-tier consequences of weakening the U.S. presence and position in the
Category Archives: Geopolitics
Ukraine’s “Marshall Plan” Should Come with Transparency
Ukraine, a democratic ally with a transatlantic orientation, is fighting a domestically and internationally popular defensive conventional war against Russia, a former imperial master that is attempting to deny Ukraine peoplehood and statehood and that happens to be longtime rival to the U.S. With moral indignation driving a rare bipartisan U.S. foreign policy, there is an understandable
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
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
China’s Energy Vulnerabilities Drive Xi’s Policies
The long-anticipated 20th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, widely seen as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s stage-managed coronation for a third term, began with Xi delivering a two-hour speech focusing on security, further global outreach, and staying the course domestically. None of this surprises China analysts, who predicted these trends far in advance. China’s domestic policy
Needed: Bipartisan support for America’s global leadership
A minority of Congressional Republicans are turning the U.S. response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine into a partisan issue. While demanding a thorough accounting of where U.S. dollars are going in the war effort certainly makes sense, flatly opposing aid to Ukraine is divisive and damaging to U.S. global interests, as U.S. allies are increasingly
Asia’s Hunger For Energy Will Not Save Russia’s Economy
Over the last year, the West imposed sanctions on Moscow, cut back its purchases of Russian hydrocarbons, and sent military support to Ukraine. But the world’s largest democracy, and one of the United States’ biggest allies in Asia, India, hasn’t done any of that. Rather, India has seized the opportunity to purchase cheap Russian energy to
Cyprus presidential elections crucial for regional oil, gas development – opinion
With Russian lobbyists pressuring Europe to cast aside alternatives to Russian gas, such as nuclear energy, we saw a lopsided growth in Russia’s strategic power over Europe. However, it clearly backfired as Putin’s war on Ukraine has continued despite sanctions. Russia lost a huge market in Europe: as much as 150 billion cubic meters of
The Coming Hurricane: Russian Energy-Giant Gazprom Is Creating An Army
Ukrainian intelligence has reported that Russian energy giant Gazprom is establishing its own private military company (PMC). The rationale for an energy company establishing a security force is at least vaguely plausible given the need to defend fixed assets in trouble spots. Western energy companies like Exxon and BP do the same. However, Gazprom is not establishing
China’s Saudi Trip More Than Niceties
China has again taken center stage with a string of groundbreaking events that will define its policy course for years to come – both domestically and internationally. The CCP’s 20th Party Congress bequeathed Xi Jinping a historic third term as President, but extreme economic turmoil and COVID protest have resulted in a chink in his political armor.