Largely informal networks of binational cooperation between government actors are effective, but depend on the determination and ability of individuals to create and maintain them. As a result, this form of binational cooperation is vulnerable to variables in personality and changing political winds.
Climate change poses a strategic dilemma for Gulf oil-exporting states. The author analyzes the risks of climate (in)action for regimes who must weigh the costs of decarbonization against the costs of climate change. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies: http://bit.ly/30udfxC
A series of converging trends provided political cover for reforms of long-standing energy subsidies launched by oil-exporting states in the Middle East and North Africa, but the new policies appear to be designed to update — rather than jettison — rent-based autocratic governance.
The United States appears less exposed to geopolitical risks affecting its oil supply than at any time since the early 1970s due to fracking, climate change and a more diverse energy supply, according to research by energy fellow Jim Krane and Kenneth B. Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies.
A combination of factors is encouraging Saudi Arabia to consider raising crude oil production capacity beyond the current ceiling of 12.5 million barrels per day. However, an increase in Saudi crude oil production would have consequences for markets and competing forms of energy, as well as for the kingdom's geopolitical stature, writes fellow Jim Krane in an article for Energy Policy.
Krane finds that the coal industry is at greater risk of being targeted by climate-related regulation amid decreasing social acceptance of its use, while the oil industry faces reduced risks due to its lack of substitutes.
Jim Krane, fellow in energy studies, examines how reforms to subsidy programs and increases in gas and electricity prices could lower energy use in the GCC.
Saudi Arabia's role in global energy markets is changing. The kingdom is diverting crude oil into an expanding refining sector and moving beyond its role as global “swing supplier” of crude oil, writes Jim Krane.
Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, Texas, suffered an unprecedented downfall into violence and chaos between 2007 and 2012. It came to be known in 2010 as “the most dangerous city in the world.” What can cause a city to spiral downward into bloodshed and turmoil in the way that Ciudad Juárez did? This article makes the argument that the city's descent into violence and chaos is the result of a number of poor decisions made over the course of the 40 years preceding the bloodshed of the years under examination.
