Course Overview: In the modern world, access to fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas is critical to ensure national prosperity and security. Many countries strive to secure these resources to alleviate their dependency on foreign energy supplies. This course introduces the theoretical frameworks necessary for understanding international energy politics, including key concepts such as the oil curse, energy security, the use of oil and gas as geopolitical weapons, energy sanctions, and resource-driven territorial disputes. We will also explore the role of petro-states and how their economic reliance on energy exports shapes both domestic policies and international relations. Finally, the course will cover how climate change reshapes the competition to access conventional energy resources. By the end of this course, students will be equipped to analyze contemporary geopolitical challenges involving energy, such as Russia’s control over European gas supplies, fluctuating oil prices, and the instability in oil-rich regions, the causes of U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf, China's efforts to secure energy access, and disputes over territorial disputes over resource-rich maritime areas such as the disputes in South China Sea, Arctic, and Eastern Mediterranean.