The Green Leviathan: Climate Statecraft and the New Realignment of Global Power

In this study group, M-RCBG Senior Fellow Justin Dargin explores how climate policy, energy transitions, and green-economy rules are reshaping global markets, geopolitics, development, and the balance of power.

The global transition away from fossil fuels is rewriting the architecture of international relations. Decarbonization is no longer simply an environmental project; it is becoming a contest over the technologies, markets, resources, and infrastructure that will shape the next economic order. This study group explores the intersection of climate policy, public policy, and geopolitics, examining how governments are turning climate rules into instruments of statecraft as the liberal international order fragments and competing models of economic power emerge. The disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz sharpen the stakes, exposing the vulnerabilities of established energy networks while accelerating the race to secure alternative energy, infrastructure, and critical resources.