In The News

Central Asia's Energy Game Intensifies

Stephen Blank September 2, 2005
With China and India fiercely competing for accessible energy resources, the energy game in Central Asia has gained intensity in recent months. China attracted international attention last month when China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), a state-owned oil company, acquired PetroKazhakhstan, one of Kazakhstan's major energy producers. Meanwhile, India is following closely behind,...

Hurricane Raises Fears of Global Energy Crisis

Thomas Catan August 31, 2005
As flood waters continue to rise in New Orleans, Louisiana, the full scope of damage due to Hurricane Katrina has yet to be discerned. Nine oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico – 12 percent of US refining capacity – are now closed. As a result, gas prices in the United States spiked immediately after the storm, but some observers worry that the impact will be more drastic. "It is now...

Prices Transform Oil into a Weapon

Ian Bremmer August 29, 2005
Alongside the fear that high oil prices will dampen global economic growth lies another serious threat: It is increasingly likely that certain oil-producing states may use the valued fuel as a political weapon – and effectively so, according to Ian Bremmer. Given the current state of global markets, any interruption of output will likely drive up prices. At the same time, petro-states are...

Why the India Deal Is Good

Selig S. Harrison August 24, 2005
Washington's agreement to support India's nuclear program – for civilian, not military, purposes – has been criticized for undermining the international nonproliferation regime. As Selig A. Harrison writes, much of the antagonism is unfounded. According to Harrison, India's increasing energy demands – along with ample deposits of a rare radioactive mineral – have allowed New...

The Breaking Point

Peter Maass August 22, 2005
As world oil prices continue to surge past $US60 per barrel, and as Chinese companies aggressively pursue acquisition of energy assets, anxiety is growing in many quarters about global energy security. Focusing his inquiry on the world's largest exporter, Saudi Arabia, Peter Maass uncovers some unsettling realities about the global oil supply. Maass reports on the difficulties in...

Edwardian Summer

Larry Elliott August 18, 2005
Can the world learn from its past follies? The Guardian economics editor Larry Elliott examines this question, as he draws parallels between the "first" age of globalization – just prior to World War I – and the current second phase. There are several similarities between the two eras: belief in unrestricted capital flows and free trade, profound income inequality, and large-scale...

How to Be Weapon-Ready NPT Members

Leonard S. Spector August 16, 2005
The simmering trouble with the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs has come to a head, raising serious questions about the future of nonproliferation. These two countries' – one former and one current signatory of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) – new demands that bend, but do not explicitly break, the NPT rules have resulted in a dangerous standoff. Nonproliferation expert...