This book analyzes the strategic dimensions of energy security, particularly where energy resources may become the object of military competition. The volume explores the diverse risks that may arise from conditions of increasing economic competition and resource scarcity, and the full range of problems that may follow if major producers or consumers of energy lose confidence in the equity and efficiency of the market, and resort instead to the use of force to secure access to energy. It surveys the strategic outlook of both producer and consumer states, with emphasis on nations or regions (Central Asia, Russia, China, Venezuela, the Persian Gulf) where unstable or rapidly evolving political conditions may undermine the currently prevailing market consensus. It also examines the role of the United States as the chief guarantor of the global economy, and the challenge this unique role poses for its exercise of military power. The book contends that while the global energy market may be largely self-regulating, it is not self-defending. A failure to consider how it can be most effectively defended from emerging and potential challenges merely heightens the risk that those challenges may some day become real.

This book will be of interest to students of energy policy, international security, US foreign policy and international relations in general.

The Editors

Daniel Moran is Professor of International and Military History at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he directs the doctoral program in Security Studies.
James A. Russell is a senior lecturer in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.