Will China and the Gulf oil states have the U.S. over the proverbial barrel, or will the world's leading capitalist economy get lucky once again? On May 26, 2009, two of the New America Foundation's leading experts on geopolitics and the global economy joined with Foreign Policy magazine to debate which countries will emerge relatively stronger in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

Because of the Middle East's critical role in global energy markets, the Iraq War raises important questions about the shifting distribution of economic and financial power around the world. This in turn raises important implications for America's international standing.

From Venezuela to Russia, the increasing control that state-owned companies exercise over world oil and gas reserves is empowering some energy exporters to act with increasing boldness against U.S. interests and policies. In a recent article for The National Interest, Flynt Leverett and Pierre Noël argue that U.S.