Agnia Grigas
Agnia Grigas | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 21, 1979 Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Education | - BA Economics and Political Science, Columbia University (2002)
- MPhil International Relations, St Antony's College, Oxford (2006)- DPhil International Relations, Brasenose College, Oxford (2011) |
| Occupation | Political scientist |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Known for | Specializing in security and energy matters concerning Russia, Europe, and the Post-Soviet states |
Agnia Grigas (born November 21, 1979) is an American political scientist of Lithuanian origin who specializes in security and energy matters concerning Russia, Europe, and the Post-Soviet states. She earned her Doctorate in International Relations from the University of Oxford and currently holds the position of nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council based in Washington, DC.
Education and early life
Grigas was born in Kaunas, Lithuania during the Soviet period and relocated to the United States at the age of ten. She completed her undergraduate studies at Columbia University in 2002, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science. Subsequently, she received an MPhil in International Relations from St Antony's College, Oxford in 2006 and finalized her DPhil at Brasenose College, Oxford in 2011.
Career
Her professional journey began in 2002 as a financial analyst at JPMorgan Chase in London, where she concentrated on Eurobond issuances for both corporate clients and governments. In 2007, she became an associate at the global consultancy firm Eurasia Group, providing strategic advice on Central and Eastern European as well as post-Soviet markets, including initiating coverage of the Baltic States.
From 2008 to 2009, Grigas served as an advisor to the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focusing on energy security and economic issues. During this period, she contributed to regional initiatives aimed at diversifying gas supplies, notably participating in the early stages of the Klaipeda LNG FSRU project. Additionally, she played a role in facilitating one of Lithuania’s largest foreign investments by Barclays, later offering consultancy services to Barclays regarding the establishment of their global engineering hub in Vilnius, Lithuania.
In 2014, Grigas was appointed as a nonresident Senior Fellow at Occidental College’s McKinnon Center for Global Affairs. The following year, she joined the Truman National Security Project as a Security Fellow. Since 2015, she has held a nonresident Senior Fellow role at the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center within the Atlantic Council headquartered in Washington, DC.
Books
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- Her debut publication examines how the Baltic States shape their foreign policies toward Russia, with emphasis on oil and gas politics alongside the Soviet heritage. The second edition was published by Routledge in 2016.
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- This book investigates Moscow’s strategy of leveraging compatriots residing in neighboring nations to pursue territorial objectives, focusing on examples from Ukraine and Georgia, while also evaluating potential threats to Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Baltic States.
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- Her third volume outlines how developments such as the U.S. shale gas revolution, growth in global LNG commerce, and new gas transportation infrastructure have reshaped the natural gas industry landscape.