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Global Affairs Session 26 30 April 2026 WHY UAE LEFT OPEC Oil nationalism, Saudi rivalry and the struggle for market share This session examines the oil-market logic behind the UAE’s break with OPEC: an economy with low production costs and diversified revenues seeks greater sales volume and market share, while Saudi Arabia requires higher prices and stricter production cuts. The dispute extends into Gulf leadership, OPEC+ relations with Russia, American strategy, Asian demand and the growing need to finance hydrogen, ammonia and renewable-energy ambitions.

Global Affairs Session 17 17 April 2026 DEADLY PETRO-IMPERIALISM OF USA Oil power, Big Oil and the politics of intervention This session examines the argument that American power in oil-rich regions is shaped by petro-imperialism: the use of political, economic and military influence to secure energy interests. It connects fossil-fuel dependence, global oil reserves, Big Oil’s influence over United States politics and the consumer cost of military escalation, while invoking Smedley Butler’s warning about war and business.