In recent years, since Vladimir Putin came to power in Russia, the distribution and control over energy flows have been used as powerful tools of foreign policy by the Kremlin. Through their use, Russia has become a key trading partner for the European Union, which, until the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict in 2022, was the main destination for exports of commodities such as natural gas and oil from Russia.

Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz Conflict Directly Impacts the Global Economy—Especially China

Contemporary geopolitics often seems to orbit around the statements and impulses of figures such as Donald Trump, whose relationship with institutional predictability has always been, at best, fragile. When decisions with global impact are made without coordination, without consultation, or even in contradiction with specialists — such as his former counterterrorism chief — the international system ceases to operate on rules and begins to react to impulses.

Due the war in Iran Brazil has been developing initiatives aimed at increasing its national energy autonomy. Projects to expand refining capacity—such as the enlargement of the Abreu e Lima Refinery—seek to increase domestic diesel production, aiming to reduce national vulnerability to potential international crises related to the oil market.