Geopolitics of Energy Director Meghan O’Sullivan joined Geopolitics of Energy Fellow Holly Morrow for an IDEASpHERE event titled “America’s Unconventional Energy Boom and How It Is Changing the Way the World Works.”

In a Harvard Kennedy School IDEASpHERE session titled "Challenges to US Global Leadership," Graham Allison, Nicholas Burns, David Gergen, David Ignatius, and Meghan O’Sullivan discussed challenges as well as opportunities facing the United States. Burns moderated the session.

Challenges include the rise of China and the future of the U.S.-China relationship, the crises taking place around the world, and the reputation of the U.S. worldwide. An unexpected opportunity is the increase in available energy sources in the United States.

The West promised ‘consequences’ for meddling in Ukraine, yet the interference has only grown.

As the drama of the Middle East’s democratic upheaval unfolds, the design of electoral systems is a crucial but underreported part of the story. Our original analysis of Iraqi elections in 2005 and 2010 demonstrate that small changes in how votes become seats can have a major impact on who governs. As such, they offer critical lessons for those shaping the contours of the democracies struggling to emerge in the Middle East today.

Meghan O'Sullivan and Richard Haass sit down with Fareed Zakaria to discuss the outcomes of their work on the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland this past year.

The Ukraine crisis has spurred calls for ramping up U.S. liquefied natural gas exports to Europe in the hope of translating our new-found energy prowess into geopolitical influence. It's a nice idea. But if the goal is to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, a more considered proposal might be to lift the ban on the export of U.S. crude oil.

Only five years ago, the world’s supply of oil appeared to be peaking, and as conventional gas production declined in the United States, it seemed that the country would become dependent on costly natural gas imports. But in the years since, those predictions have proved spectacularly wrong.

Many Americans are surprised to see Fallujah back on thefront pagesof newspapers. How did things get so bad that the Iraqi government was compelled to call for American support in its battle against an al-Qaeda affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria?

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries embargo against the U.S. and states that supported Israel after Egypt and Syria initiated simultaneous offensives against it on Yom Kippur in 1973. While it’s not an anniversary that many will celebrate, it’s a good opportunity to reflect on how much more secure our energy situation is, despite our continued heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

Meghan O'Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School and head of the Belfer Center's Geopolitics of Energy Project, has been named vice-chair of the All-Party Talks in Northern Ireland. She will join Council on Foreign Relations President Richard N. Haass in chairing the talks aimed at addressing some of the most divisive issues affecting Northern Ireland.