MenuThe war in Ukraine will have demonstrated the impotence of the United Nations if a permanent member of the Security Council with full veto power becomes a rogue state without consequence. For the havoc it created, Russia must now be evicted from the UN. Read more.
Category Archives: Geopolitics
The Greed And Geopolitics Of The OPEC+ Oil Production Cut
This move is not unexpected. As I wrote here, President Joe Biden’s failure in Saudi Arabia in July to secure more oil production shook Saudi Arabia’s transactional relationship (security for oil) with the USA to its foundations. Saudi Arabia began importing Russian fuel oils for domestic use to free up more crude oil for export months ago, with the
Russia’s trajectory of hate: A big war against the West coming
Putin, in his Götterdämmerung moment, is fearmongering. In Stalinist propaganda language, he claims that the West “took off their masks and showed their true nature” … “for centuries [the West] wanted to colonize Russia, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union dreamed, but failed, to shatter it into pieces, set off ethnic groups against each other,
A Tale of Good Intentions and Unexpected Consequences
Despite Francis Fukuyama’s infamous opinion, history certainly did not end. The imperial collapse was an unintended consequence of Gorbachev’s desire to humanize socialism and save the USSR. He utterly failed in both tasks, but Russia and other Soviet republics were liberated from the Communist nightmare, and the world gained 30 years of relative peace, which is
Energy Policies For Refugee Assistance: Sustainability And Access
Refugees crowded into squalid camps is not a new mental image. The numbers of refugees are continuing to climb globally. This humanitarian crisis is not just a disaster on its own terms but is also an underappreciated part of our modern energy crises. Read the full article here…
Floating Solar: The Most Practical Green Technology?
Earlier this month, the US Army launched a large floating solar array at Camp Mackall on Fort Bragg in North Carolina— the country’s largest domestic military base. This launch marks a critical moment for floating photovoltaics (FPVs) which have yet to attract mainstream attention in the USA. Read the full article here…
The Roots of Putin’s Strategic Fiasco in Ukraine
From many conversations held with Russian policymakers, we know that the vision which denies Ukraine peoplehood, and the Kremlin’s resulting aggressions, are nothing new. This war’s atrocities flow from the dark misapprehensions held by many Moscow elites concerning Russia’s destiny, history and geopolitics. Read the full article…
Is a Marshall Plan right for Ukraine?
Even before battlefields are silent, the battle for billions in Ukrainian reconstruction budgets has already begun. Top U.S. policy makers, including Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen championed the initial assistance package to Ukraine, which passed (86-11) in the Senate on May 19. Read the full article…
Kazakhstan Needs Stability And Economic Institutions To Develop Energy Resources
To understand the international agonies and opportunities that rising energy supply costs, exogenous shocks, increasing interest in renewables, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine present, there is no better example than Kazakhstan. It is singularly damaged by the current crises while simultaneously having so much potential to benefit from the global need for energy. Read the
China’s Wind Power Push Threatens US Strategic Interests
Government priorities feature prominently in discussions over the transition to renewable energy. Enthusiasm may abound for wind power, but if the United States is serious about its future, it must address critical supply chain disruptions and market-distorting foreign competition. Read the full article…