Geopolitics of Energy Initiative: Recent and Upcoming Events

An exclusive national poll taken ahead of Iran’s presidential election is discussed by Ken Ballen, Azadeh Porzand, and Flynt Leverett. Steve Clemons moderated the discussion.

Will China and the Gulf oil states have the U.S. over the proverbial barrel, or will the world's leading capitalist economy get lucky once again? On May 26, 2009, two of the New America Foundation's leading experts on geopolitics and the global economy joined with Foreign Policy magazine to debate which countries will emerge relatively stronger in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

The next U.S. president, whether it is Sen. John McCain or Sen. Barack Obama, should reorient American policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran as fundamentally as President Nixon transformed American policy toward the People's Republic of China in the early 1970s. This is the argument put forth by Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett in "Time for a U.S.-Iranian Grand Bargain," the third proposal in New America's Big Ideas series. Their idea is also explored in… more

Because of the Middle East's critical role in global energy markets, the Iraq War raises important questions about the shifting distribution of economic and financial power around the world. This in turn raises important implications for America's international standing.

Oystein Noreng is Norway's leading energy economist and a profoundly insightful commentator on the geopolitical factors affecting global energy markets. Since 1990, Noreng has been Professor and FINA Chair in petroleum economics and management at the Norwegian… more

This full-day conference on the future of U.S.-Iran relations, co-sponsored by the National Iranian American Council, was held as scheduled on Wednesday, despite the inclement weather and delayed opening of federal government offices.

Video of this event is available at right, while an MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below.

This event was supported by the Pluralism Fund, Kenbe Foundation, Ploughshares Fund and Open Society Institute.

From Venezuela to Russia, the increasing control that state-owned companies exercise over world oil and gas reserves is empowering some energy exporters to act with increasing boldness against U.S. interests and policies. In a recent article for The National Interest, Flynt Leverett and Pierre Noël argue that U.S. foreign policy is ill-suited to cope with the challenges to American leadership that flow from the new petropolitics because current policy does not take energy security seriously as a foreign policy… more

At this recent New America event, Flynt Leverett, former National Security Council Senior Director of Middle East affairs and Middle East expert with the current Administration's Policy Planning Staff, outlined a compelling vision for a U.S. recovery strategy for the region in this special event with American Strategy Program Director Steven Clemons.

The discussion elaborated on Leverett's cover story for The American Prospect, which makes a cogent case for the return of a realist-based… more