
Meet Today’s Masters of the Universe
“The World for Sale” peels back the cover on the secretive—and sometimes shady—people who make the modern world go around.

Energy Transition Is the Future. National Oil Companies Are Betting on the Past.
State-owned oil companies are on the verge of investing $400 billion in projects incompatible with the Paris Agreement. If they fail, it could spark an emerging market debt crisis.

The New Geopolitics of Energy
Foreign Policy’s five best reads on the dramatic shift in energy policy in 2020.

Iraq’s Economic Collapse Could Be Biden’s First Foreign-Policy Headache
If the Iraqi government fails to pay state workers’ salaries in January, it could lead to widespread instability and violence. The United States and the international community must shore up Baghdad’s finances before it’s too late.

Is OPEC Over?
After 60 years, the organization is struggling to weather the pandemic and peak oil—but there is a way forward.

The End of Oil Supremacy
If Biden wins, oil prices may fall, setting in motion the reconfiguration of the world energy industry.

Iraq’s Future Isn’t Oil, It’s Sustainable Electricity
As the country continues to grapple with the aftermath of the Islamic State insurgency, revolutionizing the country’s energy sector could be the key to long-term security.

Everything You Think About the Geopolitics of Climate Change Is Wrong
The transition to a zero-carbon world will shift power in very unexpected ways.

Turkish Military Maneuvering Pushed Italy and France to Join Forces in the Mediterranean. Now What?
Formerly competitors, Paris and Rome’s Pax Mediterranea may spell Ankara’s final estrangement from Europe.

UAE Deal Boosts Israeli Oil Pipeline Secretly Built With Iran
The Jewish state is about to play a much bigger role in the region’s energy trade and petroleum politics.

Iran’s Pact With China Is Bad News for the West
Tehran’s new strategic partnership with Beijing will give the Chinese a strategic foothold and strengthen Iran’s economy and regional clout.

The U.S. Is Close to Killing Russia’s Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
But it’s a race between slow construction and slower sanctions.

U.S. Troops Really Are in Syria to Protect the Oil—for the Kurds
It’s the only way to get Trump to keep troops on the ground.

After Decades of Wrong Predictions, Oil May Finally Be Peaking
Thanks to the pandemic, demand is flattening faster than expected. In turn, the energy economy could transform sooner rather than later.

Trump’s China Trade Deal Is as Dead as Can Be
His much-touted trade victory has crashed and burned with the coronavirus pandemic.

Albertan Officials Are Using Orwellian Methods to Protect Oil and Gas
As its energy industry comes under threat, the oil-rich province is taking aim at environmental activists.

Oil Price Crash Revives Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaigns
Climate activists say this is the moment for colleges and major institutions to dump their investments.

Why Gulf States Are Backtracking on India
Islamophobia is undoing years of New Delhi’s diplomatic gains in the Middle East.