In the aftermath of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, the United States, Canada, and the European Union states showed unusual unity in identifying Russia as an aggressor and taking swift measures both to move away from energy dependency on Russia and to institute sanctions to limit Russia's ability to finance this war. In the Global South, however, the range of responses has been wider, with much more of a sympathetic ear to Russia’s position. This webinar will focus on some of the geopolitical and geo-economic impacts of the war on Global South states including the Middle East and North Africa states, as well as on the less obvious but crucial energy links connecting Russia with these countries.
Currently, Dr. Balmaceda is an Associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University. A specialist on the comparative energy politics of the post-Soviet states, since 2000 she has been “following the pipeline” – i.e. following the complex web of interconnections that accompany the energy relationship between Russian oil and gas producers, post-Soviet transit states, and European consumers.