Tag: Energy Security
Energy Security

Energy Security and the Limits of Sanctions: Lessons from Myanmar 

Despite extensive sanctions and international pressure following the 2021 military coup, Myanmar’s natural gas exports have continued to generate significant foreign currency revenues for the military government.
Using Myanmar as a case study, this article argues that the principal constraint on sanctions has not been a lack of legal authority or political will, but the realities of energy security. Myanmar’s offshore gas sector is deeply embedded within regional energy networks that continue to serve the strategic and economic interests of neighbouring states, creating dependencies that complicate efforts to disrupt those revenue streams.
Angelina Smolynec Energy Security

Fractures in Unity: Hungary, Slovakia, and Europe’s Energy Future

As Canada seeks to strengthen its ties with the EU, how does division in European energy policy and broader support for Ukraine affect transatlantic unity? In this article, our Junior Research Fellow Angelina Smolynec unpacks pipeline politics and explains why Hungary and Slovakia have deepened their ties with Moscow, while most of the EU has committed to phasing out Russian fuel.

Asia-Pacific China Uncategorized

Rare Earth Resilience: How NATO Can Secure Its Technological Future Amid US-China Rivalry

As US-China rivalry escalates, China’s new export curbs on rare earths have exposed NATO’s dangerous dependence on external suppliers for the minerals underpinning its defence industries. Daniel Lincoln argues that the Alliance must develop a unified industrial strategy to secure access to critical materials, independent of both Washington and Beijing. By building diversified supply chains, joint stockpiles, and integrated processing capacity, he contends that NATO can turn resource vulnerability into strategic resilience.

Map of Southern Gas Corridor
Energy Security

Italy Anchors Azerbaijan’s Gas Push to Europe

Azerbaijan and Italy are tightening energy ties, and this is having system-wide Euro-Caspian effects. In September, it was reported that SOCAR agreed to acquire Italiana Petroli, one of Italy’s largest fuel retailers, pending approvals. This purchase does not add gas capacity on day one, but it does insert Azerbaijan directly into Italy’s downstream market, bringing Read More…
Security, Trade and the Economy

Financing the enemy: The limits of NATO’s strategic decoupling from Russian fossil fuels 

Despite vocally supporting Ukraine, between February 2022 and February 2025, NATO countries paid more to Russia for energy imports than they provided in aid to Ukraine. This article analyzes the limits of NATO’s strategic decoupling from Russian fossil fuels and proposes concrete steps the alliance as a whole, and Canada in particular, should take to tackle this problem.
Cyber Security and Emerging Threats Jeremy Ofwono

The Verdict of History: An Incomplete Peace Is a Dangerous Proposition

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2014, Moscow’s aggression against its neighbour has gone through several significant phases, from the annexation of Crimea, to mounting insurgency in the Donbas, to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine proper in 2022 and a subsequent seesaw of back-and-forth offensives. With the Trump Administration in full swing, the Read More…