Commentary

COMMENTARY: Power Shifts as Powers Shift: Energy Realignment After Russia’s Invasion

Eliana Svilik, Stanford University -- Global energy markets have transformed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine shifted key resource flows, creating new winners and losers. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the former was the world’s second largest producer of natural gas and third largest producer of crude oil. EU member states relied on this supply for the majority of its oil and gas as part of a developed, seemingly mutual partnership. As the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears, changes in energy supply chains demonstrate that the U.S. and EU have largely won the concurrent energy war.

Commentary, Environment

COMMENTARY: Tractors, Sustainability, and Fairness: Understanding EU Farmers’ Protests Against Green Policies

Jenna Teterin, Stanford University -- Earlier this year, tractors formed barricades in highways and streets across Belgium, France, and other European Union countries. Blocking traffic with their personal machinery, European farmers protested against policies and decisions made by the EU to promote sustainable practices across industries, agriculture included. Underneath the surface, however, their protests were also shaped by the most basic rule of economics: supply and demand.