Oil and International Security

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor

This course explores the interaction between oil and natural gas – today’s primary sources of energy – and international affairs. Scholars and policymakers have all too often viewed the politics of oil solely through the myopic lens of Western energy security. Yet energy production and export impacts foreign affairs in ways big and small, shaping foreign policy choices by importing states in Western Europe or East Asia, and shaping the politics of exporters like Russia, Saudi Arabia, or Venezuela. In this course, students will explore the broad scope of energy and politics, including: 1) the domestic politics of oil and gas production in petrostates; 2) the history and geopolitics of traditional energy security concerns; and 3) the international role played by petrostates. By the end of the course, students will have built an understanding of how energy production and global energy markets function, how these markets shape the politics of importing and exporting states, and how they interact with international security. Students will learn about these issues in the broader context of ongoing and radical shifts in energy production, including new technologies, market innovations, the growth of American production, and the shift towards decarbonization.