
The World Today: Oil Markets and Geopolitics of Energy
Event Summary
Pandemic-related policies and supply chain disruptions, followed by Russia’s war in Ukraine, have sent energy prices skyrocketing, and a global game of energy chess has ensued. Sanctions against Russia and growing energy demand after the economic slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in a European energy crisis, exacerbated by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) October resolution to cut oil production to “stem a tide of volatility in energy prices” and keep prices high.
Beyond the oil and gas shortages, the impact on prices affects not just international relations between countries but also their domestic affairs. Major economic powers like Britain and the US are seeing their elections impacted and their efforts to fight climate change derailed. Globally, discontent and unrest—driven partly by energy prices—are rising.
This edition of The World Today will examine the politics of global energy pricing. How should countries respond to volatile and rising energy prices and associated inflation? How can they protect their domestic priorities? How will countries manage geopolitical relations amid an energy crisis?
Angela Pachon
Special AdvisorAngela Pachon is a special advisor the Kleinman Center and was previously the Center’s research director. She advises on the research agenda, research grants and the visitor scholar programs, as well as developing scholarship and research collaborations.
Robert Vitalis
Professor of Political Science, University of PennsylvaniaRobert Vitalis is a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, and former director of the Penn Middle East Center. His current research focuses on the rise of the militant right in strategic studies in the United States.
Benjamin L. Schmitt
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for AstrophysicsBenjamin L. Schmitt is a postdoctoral research fellow and project development scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, where he focuses on the development of instrumentation and infrastructure for next-generation Antarctic experimental cosmology facilities at the South Pole.
Michael Weisberg
Senior Faculty Fellow and Director of Post-Graduate Programs, Perry World HouseMichael Weisberg is senior faculty fellow and director of post-graduate programs at Perry World House, as well as Bess W. Heyman President’s Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.