Oilcraft

Oilcraft

Author: Robert Vitalis

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2020-07-14

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 1503612341

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“A valuable addition to the new wave of critical studies on the history of oil and energy policy”—and a bracing corrective to longstanding myths (James M. Gustafson, Diplomatic History). Conventional wisdom tells us that the US military presence in the Persian Gulf is what guarantees American access to oil; that the “special” relationship with Saudi Arabia is necessary to stabilize an otherwise volatile market; and that these assumptions in turn provide Washington enormous leverage over Europe and Asia. But the conventional wisdom is wrong. Robert Vitalis debunks the myths of “oilcraft”, a line of magical thinking closer to witchcraft than statecraft. Oil is a commodity like any other: bought, sold, and subject to market forces. Vitalis exposes the suspect fears of oil scarcity and investigates the geopolitical impact of these false beliefs. In particular, Vitalis shows how we can reconsider the question of the US-Saudi special relationship, which confuses and traps many into unnecessarily accepting what they imagine is a devil’s bargain. Freeing ourselves from the spell of oilcraft won’t be easy, but the benefits make it essential.


First World Petro-Politics

First World Petro-Politics

Author: Laurie Adkin

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2016-08-04

Total Pages: 691

ISBN-13: 1442699426

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First World Petro-Politics examines the vital yet understudied case of a first world petro-state facing related social, ecological, and economic crises in the context of recent critical work on fossil capitalism. A wide-ranging and richly documented study of Alberta’s political ecology – the relationship between the province’s political and economic institutions and its natural environment – the volume tackles questions about the nature of the political regime, how it has governed, and where its primary fractures have emerged. Its authors examine Alberta’s neo-liberal environmental regulation, institutional adaptation to petro-state imperatives, social movement organizing, Indigenous responses to extractive development, media framing of issues, and corporate strategies to secure social license to operate. Importantly, they also discuss policy alternatives for political democratization and for a transition to a low-carbon economy. The volume’s conclusions offer a critical examination of petro-state theory, arguing for a comparative and contextual approach to understanding the relationships between dependence on carbon extraction and the nature of political regimes.


Arab Petro-Politics

Arab Petro-Politics

Author: Abdulaziz Al_Sowayegh

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-05-31

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1000906892

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First Published in 1984, Arab Petro-Politics argues that oil is important to Arab world both as an instrument for economic development and as an element of political influence. Oil has changed the political and economic structures and policies in the Middle East and dramatically influenced political alignments both within the region and between the region and the world’s greatest powers. The book seeks to explain Arab oil policy both in economic terms and as political leverage to support Arab demands. Its main thesis is that the oil crisis is inextricably part of the Arab Israeli conflict despite the tendency amongst Western Middle East specialists to separate oil question from the Palestinian issue. This book is an important historical document for scholars and researchers of international oil economics, Middle East politics, and Middle East history.