Priorities for the development of U.S. energy policy in 2012–2023

Abstract

The shale revolution of the early 21^st century has radically changed the energy image of the United States, turning the country into one of the largest exporters of hydrocarbons. Such significant transformations could not but affect how Washington positions itself in the global energy market and how it defines its national interests in this sphere. The article is dedicated to the juxtaposition between the approaches of the last three administrations to this issue.

Despite the fact that a significant body of domestic and foreign research focuses on the persistent desire of each new political leadership to maximally distance itself from its predecessors, a consistent analysis of the strategic documents on the development of the U.S. fuel and energy complex, as well as on the specifics of building relations with other actors of the international energy system, allows  us  to  make a conclusion  that  Washington’s policy  is  based on the constant imperative of achieving resource self-sufficiency and gaining a dominant position in  the  global  market. Such a circumstance indicates  the evolutionary nature of the changes in the 2012–2023 US energy doctrine, and it occurred in full compliance with the global leadership mentality which is typical for the country.