OIL IMPERIALISM

Control of oil

While economists and historians agree that access to important resources has throughout history been a factor in warfare and in diplomacy, oil imperialism theories generally tend to assert that control of petroleum reserves has played an overriding role in international politics since World War I. Further, the use of the word imperialism renders such analyses particularly contentious.

A Possible Solution

A solution to oil imperialism and exorbitant oil prices could be to treat petroleum as an international public utility.

Oil Imperialism and Personal Monopoly

The citizens of most oil exporting nations receive little or no benefit from the sale of their nation's oil. Most of the profit is received by a minority that has political control, and these persons usually are not even involved in the production of oil.

Nigeria is a leading example.

Leverage

Oil producing nations can use oil as a weapon, driving the demand for fossil fuels and hurting those nations that are dependent economically. The ability to produce energy without foreign dependence can provide a measure of energy independence.

See also

• Dollar hegemony Dollar hegemony is a term coined by Henry C.K. Liu to describe the US dollar in the global economy.

• Hydraulic despotism

• Oil crisis

• Petrodollar warfare The term was coined by William R. Clark, who has written a book with the same title. The phrase oil currency wars is sometimes used with the same meaning

• Resource curse The term 'resource curse thesis' was first used by Richard Auty in 1993 to describe how countries rich in natural resources were not able to use that wealth to boost their economies and how, counter-intuitively, these countries had lower economic growth than countries without an abundance of natural resources.

• Renewable energy

• Iranian oil bourse

• Chart of exports and production of oil by nation

• List of oil-producing states

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Pipelineistan
From SourceWatch

Pipelinestan "encompasses Macedonia, Iraq, possibly Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and maybe a few more 'stans'." [1]