Wine and Cheese Evening: "How to Survive in an Era of Volatile Oil Prices"

On September 29th, AGS held its first Wine and Cheese evening of the Fall semester around the theme of the volatility of oil prices. Prof. Douglas Yates, whose field of expertise focuses on African politics and the world politics of the oil industry, animated the discussion with the audience of around fifty students, faculty and Paris-based actors of international politics.

Basing his presentation on an article written by two White House advisors, Robert McNally and Michael Levi, in the July-August 2011 issue of Foreign Affairs ("A Crude Predicament: The Era of Volatile Oil Prices" p.100-111), Professor Yates engaged the audience to understand the reasons why, unlike other commodities, oil undergoes such extreme swings in prices, to examine the geopolitical consequences of these price swings, and to explore possible responses to this problem.

"The evening's discussion focused on the evolution of oil prices in a world with many actors, and no common power. The world oil industry is more than the economic interrelation of supply sources and markets or the political interrelation of companies with goverments. The system works within the framework of the larger, and even more complex system of international politics, where the stabilizing role of OPEC is no longer prominent. It was particularly interesting to discuss this question with an audience coming from such a wide variety of national and cultural backgrounds bringing multiple perspectives to the table. When I conduct this kind of discussions, I always appreciate and feel proud of how much insight, analytical and critical thinking our students at AGS have."