Offshore Energy and International Conflict: An Overview with Consideration of the Arctic
The next presentation in the Texas A&M Energy Institute Lecture Series: Master of Science in Energy Webinars, featuring Dr. Elizabeth Nyman, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University at Galveston, will be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CDT (GMT -5:00) through an online Zoom meeting. The topic will be “Offshore Energy and International Conflict: An Overview with Consideration of the Arctic.”
Abstract
The Arctic has long been a place of energy resource extraction. From Svalbard’s coal to Alaska’s oil, energy for export has marked terrestrial and marine habitats in the north. Today it is generally well accepted that there are offshore energy resources in the Arctic, but that these are too expensive to access (for now). There is also a heightened understanding of the security needs in the Arctic, with for example the recent release of the US Air Force Arctic Strategy this past July. In this talk, I discuss the history of offshore energy conflict (mostly over offshore oil) and consider the potential role of offshore energy in current and future international treaties and policy.
Biography
Dr. Elizabeth Nyman is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University at Galveston. She earned a Ph.D. in political science from Florida State University and a B.A. in international relations from the College of William and Mary. Her research focuses on international maritime conflict, piracy, and environmental issues, and has been published in a variety of academic venues. She is particularly interested in oceanic resources, such as fish or offshore oil and gas, and how those impact state desires to control ocean spaces.