The intersection of energy and national security, particularly as it relates to oil and natural gas, has received increasing attention from U.S. policymakers in recent years. In April 2010, CFR, with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, convened a group of experts in energy and national security policy to assess the state of knowledge on national security problems related to oil and gas, including potential policy responses, and to identify areas where research was needed. Based on that workshop, CFR published the report Energy Security: An Agenda for Research, which outlines a wide range of areas in which new research would add valuably to expert and policymaker understanding.

CFR's Energy and National Security Program focuses on five topics areas raised in that report: understanding the security consequences of oil production, consumption, and trade; analyzing U.S. policies that could promote reduced demand for oil, including in developing countries; understanding major oil producing countries; assessing policies that maintain or strengthen the functioning of oil markets, including diplomatic, financial, and military policies; and the geopolitics of natural gas. The program is directed by Michael A. Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment.

This program has been made possible by the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.