Jonathan Kuiken

Dr. Jonathan Kuiken serves as Associate Professor of History and Honors Director at Wilkes University, specializing in British Empire history and energy geopolitics since joining the faculty in 2014. His research examines the international oil industry's evolution through corporate-state dynamics of BP and Shell.

His academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Modern British History, Boston College (2013)

Kuiken's scholarship centers on energy as a geopolitical force, analyzing how oil shaped decolonization, Cold War alliances, and global economic structures. He investigates Britain's strategic navigation of OPEC, energy crises, and corporate diplomacy in Africa and the Middle East, bridging imperial history with contemporary energy security debates through archival rigor.

His publication trajectory reveals deepening focus on post-1957 energy transitions, with recent works dissecting Britain's contested role in remaking global oil governance amid corporate power shifts and resource nationalism, particularly through case studies of BP/Shell in Africa and Gulf regions.

Dr. Kuiken actively mentors students via the History Behind the Headlines podcast and directs the Contemporary History Project, which contextualizes current events through scholarly dialogues. His Stark Learning Center office facilitates collaboration on energy history initiatives within Wilkes' interdisciplinary frameworks.

He leads the student-run History Behind the Headlines podcast and organizes the Contemporary History Project's speaker series, creating platforms for public history engagement and critical analysis of contemporary issues through historical lenses.