Fuel for Conflict: The impact of the plunging oilprice on geopolitics in the Middle East

The last lecture in the Henriette van Lynden series took place on Thursday, 2nd of April 2015 and focussed on the impact of the falling oil price on power relations in the Middle East: ‘Fuel for Conflict: The impact of the plunging oil price on geopolitics in the Middle East’ Dr. Anas Alhajji, Prof. Mahmoud El-Gamal, Dr Patrick Clawson shared their views on the topic and participated in a panel discussion. Dr. Anas Alhajji As chief Economist at an investment firm in oil and gas, Dr. Alhajji is an insider in the oil industry and a sought-after speaker, a.o. at the World Economic Forum. Dr. Alhajji is also a highly regarded scholar, author, and speaker, with more than 800 papers, articles and columns to his credit, on the energy sector and international economy. He will explain the causes of the fall of the oil price. Prof. Mahmoud El-Gamal Egyptian prof. El-Gamal is an internationally acclaimed oil-expert. Being professor at Rice University (Houston, Texas), as well as at the American University in Cairo, he focuses on the relationship between oil and geopolitics. In his book ‘Oil, Dollars, Debt and Crisis: The Global Curse of the Black Gold’ he shows the world’s dependency on oil. During the lecture, he will discuss the impact of the oil price decline on the (im)balance of power in the Middle East. Dr. Patrick Clawson Patrick Claswon is director of research at the Washington Institute, where he directs the Iran Security Initiative. With his expertise and experience it is possible to link political developments in the MENA region together weith Saudi-Iran relations. Dr. Clawson appears frequently on television and radio an has published op-ed articles in major newspapers including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Moderated by Ernesto Braam.