To secure development and allow the market to create sustainable jobs that reduce poverty, governments must first establish their legitimacy by providing basic services, e.g. access to clean water and electricity, in an environment safe for economic activity.  This must go hand-in-hand with establishing the rule of law, including respect for property rights.  Allan Hoffman’s analysis focuses on the energy part of this equation while recognizing that issues related to energy and water, two critical elements of sustainable development, are closely linked.

A. Canon Bryan writes that the 21st Century is different than the Cold War era and within the context of the new global security framework the Obama administration has its work cut out for it.  It is concurrently pursuing a goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons while facing an accelerating global demand for energy and power.  Thorium, a little known radioactive element, may provide a potential solution to this dilemma.

The strategic and cost implications of piracy off of Africa’s coast are clear.  What is far less clear is what direction ship and cargo owners should consider for solving what, in the Gulf of Aden, began as a rash and is now a full-blown epidemic.  Chris Brewer, a Washington based security expert, explores some of the technological options that may be employed for solving the problem of maritime piracy, and what strategic adaptations in thinking may need to be considered for driving forward a resolution to the problem.     

The United States’ nuclear accord with India was years in the making carrying with it serious policy implications on the domestic front for both countries.  In India in particular the political fallout from this agreement has been significant with ongoing implications for India’s ruling party.  What India has risked, and gained, in the energy security field is explored extensively in this article.    

Murad Batal al-Shishani writes that al Qaeda and other militant jihadist groups are seizing the global economic crisis as an opportunity  the exploit the West’s dependence on Middle East oil.  This is not a new phenomenon but one based on an ideology about the importance of oil in the jihadist’s mindset.  Al-Shishani bores down into what al Qaeda is targeting and helps us understand why.

Coming out of the Summit of the Americas and the Obama-Chavez handshake, there are lingering questions about the future of US-Venezuelan energy relations. Latin American energy experts Paul Wander and Dan Erikson cover recent ground in this relationship and tell us why they believe the US and Venezuela are not likely to part company anytime soon.