This course examines issues at the intersection of national energy security, sustainability, and international conflict and cooperation. Is oil import dependence a foreign policy liability or cause war? Do globalization and the interdependence of energy markets favor international cooperation and peace? More specifically, can Saudi Arabia and Russia use hydrocarbon exports as energy weapons? Alternatively, will low oil prices, as well as the promise of natural gas and future exports lock in a strategic pivot away from the Persian Gulf and reinvigorate U.S. global leverage, especially amid growing local demand across the Middle East and East Asia?  Are the U.S. and China doomed to compete for access to global energy supply? Will there be a nuclear energy renaissance, and if so, will it increase the probability of weapons proliferation and regional conflict? What will be the strategic implications of the rise of alternative energy sources and mixed approaches to national climate policies?  Can state/local government activism substitute for U.S. national leadership to advance global energy governance and sustainability?