The New Map summary

Russia’s global influence has fluctuated throughout the twentieth century – from Soviet superpower to post-1991 collapse, from Russia’s chaotic 1990s to Putin’s resurgence. Yet its vast natural resources remain constant, with Putin wielding natural gas as both economic engine and geopolitical lever.

Russia’s relationship with Ukraine best illustrates this strategy. Gazprom, the Russian state-owned giant which controls the world's largest gas reserves, cut supplies to Ukraine in 2006 and 2009 over pricing disputes. Since much of Europe’s gas flows through Ukrainian pipelines, these conflicts exposed the continent’s energy vulnerability.

China’s rise to economic superpower status has reshaped global power dynamics – together with the US, it accounts for 40 percent of global GDP and half of world military spending. Since joining the WTO, China has become “the workshop of the world,” but this manufacturing miracle faces a vulnerability: energy security.

Like the US before its shale revolution, China depends heavily on imported oil, buying 75 percent of its supply from abroad. This dependency has made the South China Sea – through which one-third of the world’s natural gas shipments pass – a critical strategic chokepoint. China’s claims over various land features and its assertion of territorial waters conflict with international maritime law and neighboring states’ claims to exclusive economic zones, creating a volatile mix of energy security and territorial disputes.

The map of the modern Middle East was literally drawn around oil. The 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement saw Britain and France carve up the Ottoman Empire, with British officials ensuring their lines on the map secured access to petroleum – a strategic move to avoid dependence on American oil. This colonial cartography shaped the emergence of nation states like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, each inheriting vast oil reserves that would define their future trajectories.

The region’s oil politics crystallized around the rivalry between Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, and Iran. The 1979 Iranian Revolution transformed this dynamic, replacing the West-friendly Shah with an Islamic Republic hostile to American interests. Oil became a key battlefield as Iran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-third of global oil shipments pass, while Iraq under Saddam Hussein launched attacks on Iran’s oil facilities. The Gulf Wars later highlighted both Iraq’s strategic importance and the vulnerability of global oil supplies to regional conflicts.

Transportation and energy have long been inextricably linked – fossil fuels power our cars, trucks, planes, and ships, while the need to move people and goods drives nearly a quarter of global energy consumption. But technological innovation is fundamentally reshaping this relationship. Tesla’s success has spearheaded an electric vehicle revolution, proving that lithium-ion battery-powered cars can be both desirable and commercially viable. These batteries, similar to those in smartphones but far more powerful, have seen dramatic improvements – their cost dropped by nearly 90 percent in the past decade while their capacity and lifespan increased. Government incentives in countries from China to Norway have accelerated adoption by offsetting the higher upfront cost of electric vehicles. While EVs still face challenges like limited range and charging infrastructure, they’re gaining ground as climate concerns grow and prices approach parity with conventional vehicles.

The transformation extends beyond electrification. In 2004, the US military’s DARPA Grand Challenge invited teams to race autonomous vehicles across the Mojave Desert, launching a revolution in self-driving technology. Today, companies like Waymo and Cruise test robotic cars on city streets, while ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are changing how people think about mobility – shifting attitudes from car ownership toward transportation as an on-demand service.

The drive to address climate change is further reshaping the global energy landscape. As the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuels face mounting pressure – they account for roughly 80 percent of global emissions, with coal-fired power plants, oil-based transportation, and natural gas heating being major contributors.

The 2015 Paris Agreement marked a turning point, with nations pledging to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C. Carbon pricing emerged as a key tool, with countries from China to Canada implementing emissions trading schemes or carbon taxes by 2020. Yet the real challenge lies in replacing fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives.