Annual Symposium
2026 Symposium
Engines of Power: Energy, Trade, and Statecraft
Friday, November 6, 2026
2:30 p.m.
Robert A. Jones ‘59 Conference Room
Critical chokepoints in global supply chains – such as Black Sea ports and the Strait of Hormuz – concentrate economic power and generate opportunities for state coercion. In this year’s International Politics and Economics Symposium, experts in energy politics and economic statecraft will examine how states use these chokepoints for leverage, how government and private actors respond, and how the Russian war in Ukraine demonstrates these dynamics.
2:30 p.m. Welcome and Introductions
Gary Winslett, International Politics & Economics Director, Associate Professor of Political Science
2:40 p.m. Bryan Early, Professor and Associate Dean for Research at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University at Albany, SUNY
3:20 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m. Salvatore R. Mercogliano, Department of History, Criminal Justice, and Political Science Chair at Campbell University, Adjunct Professor at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
4:10 p.m. Break
4:20 p.m. Margarita Balmaceda, Professor of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University
5:00 p.m. Group discussion
Sponsor
- International Politics and Economics Program
Co-Sponsors
- Department of Economics
- Department of Political Science
- Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs
Speakers
Dr. Bryan R. Early is a Professor of Political Science at the University at Albany, SUNY and the founding director of the Project on International Security, Commerce, and Economic Statecraft (PISCES). He served as the Director of the Center for Policy Research from 2015-2019 and as Associate Dean for Research at Rockefeller College from 2019-2025. He has published 40 peer-reviewed academic articles on topics such as economic sanctions, weapons of mass destruction, proliferation, shadow economies, and political violence. He authored the book Busted Sanctions: Explaining Why Economic Sanctions Fail (Stanford University Press, 2015) that explains why and how sanctions-busting occurs and its consequences. As the Director of PISCES, Dr. Early has obtained over 100-external awards and over $29 million in funding. His PISCES Team has worked with over 50 countries around the world on nonproliferation and economic statecraft issues on behalf of the U.S. Government. Dr. Early received his PhD in Political Science from the University of Georgia in 2009 and was a pre-doctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Dr. Salvatore R. “Sal” Mercogliano is an American maritime historian & professor at Campbell University, former merchant mariner, and prominent media commentator. He is widely recognized as the host of the popular YouTube channel What’s Going On With Shipping?, where he breaks down complex global maritime events, supply chain crises, and naval infrastructure issues for a global audience.
He holds a BS in Marine Transportation from SUNY Maritime College, an MA in Maritime History and Nautical Archaeology from East Carolina University and a Ph.D. in Military and Naval History from the University of Alabama. He is the Chair of the Department of History, Criminal Justice and Political Science at Campbell University. He is working on a book on American sealift during the First World War.
Dr. Margarita Balmaceda is a political scientist working at the intersection of international relations, the political economy of authoritarianism and democracy, and technology. She is Professor of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University. Her research analyzes the connections between natural resources, technology, international relationships and political development, with a special expertise in energy-industrial chains such as steel and fertilizers in Russia, Ukraine, and the EU. Her education includes a Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University, Post-doctoral training at Harvard University, and ongoing training on metallurgical technology through courses at the World Steel University. Using her Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian and German skills, she has conducted extensive research in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Moldova, and Hungary with the goal of studying energy and resource politics and relationships from “inside” and looking at the goals and interests of local stakeholders.
Organizers and Contacts
- Caileigh Glenn, Assistant Professor of Economics
- Margaret Hanson, Assistant Professor of Economics
- Gary Winslett, Associate Professor of Political Science
Overview
Each year, the program in International Politics and Economics hosts a symposium that brings experts to speak on a unified topic of substantive interest to IPE majors, faculty, the broader college, and the public.
Instituted in 2012, the event has covered such varied topics as China’s rise on the world stage, various responses to the global economic crisis, and environmental policy’s relationship to inequality.
The program invites experts from a range of disciplines, including economics, political science, business, sociology, geography, and many others. These experts come from a variety of institutions, both liberal arts colleges and universities, but the symposium also includes scholars at think tanks, in government positions, and at nongovernmental organizations who specialize in issues related to the topic. The goal of each symposium is to consider the political and economic dimensions of a pressing issue from varying perspectives represented by the speakers.
The symposium takes place in late fall and offers a Friday afternoon dedicated to discussion of the topic selected that year. Students moderate each talk and the audience engages the speakers with questions in the presentations. The program in International Politics and Economics welcomes topic suggestions. For more information, topic suggestions, and feedback, please contact the International Politics and Economics program director.