Todd Royal

Todd Royal, M.P.P. is the Managing Partner for Energy development, Oil & Gas, and Renewables for Ascendance Strategies, a global threat assessment and political consulting firm that is based in Los Angeles, California

What Does Rosneft Have Planned for Venezuela’s PDVSA?

Opinion - Nov 06, 2019

Presidents Maduro and Putin, cc Kremlin.ru, modified, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/18446,

There appears to be some kind of alliance between the energy giants in the works, but the extent and legal details remain murky.

Europe Failing to Save JCPOA as Tensions Boil over in Middle East

Opinion - Oct 08, 2019

IranDeal, cc Kremlin.ru, modified, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/59829

Is Europe is warming to ‘maximum pressure’?

Trump Was Right to Leave the Iran Nuclear Deal

Opinion - Jun 26, 2018

Khamenei, cc Kremlin.ru modified, http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/50745,

The Obama-era Iran nuclear deal was flawed to its very core.

Geopolitical Risk on Energy Prices Overblown

Opinion - May 03, 2017

Generated by Google Gemini AI on August 7, 2025. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

Supply and demand – not geopolitical factors – will move oil prices through 2017.

Will Creditors Get Paid Back by Venezuela?

Opinion - Mar 09, 2017

Venezuela flag, Generated by Google Gemini AI on August 14, 2025. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

Amid economic collapse, the Venezuelan government is now forced to choose between repaying bonds or its oil-for-loans benefactors in China and Russia.

Current Geopolitics a Recipe for War

Opinion - Feb 05, 2017

cc U.S. Department of Defense, modified, https://flickr.com/photos/39955793@N07/23276439995/in/photolist-BsRQEX-2h6ktLp-28aUrRx-H1RkdU-GXYy5a-H8f56x-Na5A39-ESayYV-25N9w8h-2c6noGK-SXUJ4t-QoH3Wi-GDRmYJ-p3krCL-26ZcxjF-GKxbvv-EokbtN-2mku2RW-Yqa3PZ-2hFcdsR-BkyzDg-JMNNkf-UeFS5Y-kjpPGv-p576n4-2oh8Z63-2nkioFs-tJHw1E-21ht4ws-GvFL6B-oqNWir-GZE8eB-ANcNof-GRt7Qv-SUWZKb-Fpz8Mj-GRoQKQ-tJHvYq-HocBV1-8cgPZG-2gznMr9-md1wjR-MYhHRt-u1X6Gu-u22c4M-G9gebf-HocCdf-KUMFYZ-EDfq1F-tJz7yM Soldiers of 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, attached to 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga., fire a round out of an M1A2 System Enhancement Package Version 2 Abrams tank down range during a field training exercise in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve at Novo Selo Training Center, Bulgaria, Nov. 17, 2015. OAR began in April 2014. It is a European Command Operation led by Army, Europe. Units supporting OAR conduct continuous enhanced multi-national ground-force training and security cooperation activities with allies and partner nations in Eastern Europe. OAR is a visible demonstration of U.S. commitment to its NATO allies. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Steven M. Colvin/Released)

Geopolitical flashpoints are multiplying across several continents, and no one is stepping up to deal with them.

The World Needs Strength

Opinion - Dec 28, 2016

cc Missouri State Archives, modified, https://www.flickr.com/photos/missouristatearchives/8116078542

Appeasement didn’t work in the 1930s, and it doesn’t work now.

Deterrence Works and We Need to Get It Back

Opinion - Dec 17, 2016

AFRICOM visits AASF, cc Flickr New Jersey National Guard, modified, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/, (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released)

The old international order is falling apart, and a recommitment to deterrence can help stabilize the new one.

The Undeniable Folly of the Iran Nuclear Deal

Opinion - Dec 06, 2016

President Barack Obama talks with national security staff in the Oval Office after being notified of the nuclear agreement with Iran. From left, Chief of Staff Denis McDonough; Jeffrey Prescott, NSC Senior Director for Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the Gulf States; National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice; Avril Haines, Deputy National Security Advisor for Counterterrorism and Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, July 13, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) / https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-video/photo/2015/07/president-obama-discusses-iran-nuclear-agreement

Outgoing CIA Director John Brennan’s own policies were the height of ‘folly.’

Who Will Lead in a World on Fire?

Opinion - Nov 21, 2016

World on fire, forest fire, Generated by Google Gemini AI on August 14, 2025. All flags, maps, and likenesses contained within this image are not necessarily accurate representations of reality.

Faced with spreading conflict and instability throughout the world, who will lead?