In many countries, oil tends to fuel civil and international conflicts. Wilson Center Fellow Jeff Colgan talks about the case studies to be featured in his forthcoming book due out in February 2013.

North America is enjoying a greater wealth of energy resources, with new technology making it easier to extract natural gas from dense shale rock formations. This increase in supply has caused gas prices to plummet in the United States to approximately $3 per thousand cubic feet, compared to $16 per thousand cubic feet in Asia. With Asia struggling to meet its growing energy demand, countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan are looking toward North America to help diversify their energy imports. Many in the United States and Canada are interested in fulfilling Asia’s need for gas in order to help diversify trade and boost the economy. Others fear that liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will hurt North America’s energy security and that LNG exports may raise domestic gas prices. NBR recently spoke with James Slutz, President and Managing Director of Global Energy Strategies LLC, to better understand this debate and the implications for U.S. energy and foreign policy.

Alexandros Petersen, Advisor to the Wilson Center's European Energy Security Initiative (EESI), and Raffaello Pantucci of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences co-author an article as part of our joint-project on China in Central Asia.

The European Studies program is now accepting applications for its Junior Scholars' Training Seminar - a scholarship opportunity for graduate students (MA and above) working towards a degree in the social sciences and humanities with a regional focus on Central and Eastern Europe, including the Baltic states. The application deadline has been extended until May 18, 2012.