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Addicted to Oil: America’s Relentless Drive for Energy Security.
One of the most interesting issues in international relations is the link between the internal
characteristics of states and their external behaviour. In this clearly written and carefully
organized study, energy economist Ian Rutledge argues that the motorization of American
society and the consequent high demand for oil have been key factors driving US foreign policy
since the Second World War.
Rutledge begins by briefly reviewing how the US became committed to a pattern of economic
growth that was dependent on high levels of oil consumption. The US 'addiction to oil' was
not inevitable but rather the result of decisions made by politicians and business leaders during
the middle decades of the twentieth century to expand markets for oil and automobiles by
motorizing American cities.
The increasing dependence of the US economy on oil and the private automobile deeply
influenced US policy towards the Middle East. As the oil crises of the 1970s demonstrated,
however, reliance on Middle East oil entailed liabilities. The US sought to escape dependence
on Persian Gulf oil by promoting oil development in other parts of the world. These efforts,
which included plans to increase domestic oil production (primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and
Alaska), to develop a western hemisphere oil partnership with Canada, Mexico and Venezuela,
and to promote the rapid development of Caspian and Central Asian oil, failed to displace
Persian Gulf oil from its dominant place in the world oil economy.
As the US deepened its embrace of patterns of social and economic organization premised on
high levels of oil use, increases in world-wide oil consumption in the 1990s, especially in China
and India, led to warnings of a looming crisis in world oil supplies. The global nature of world oil
markets meant that shortfalls anywhere would be reflected in higher prices, if not shortages, in
other parts of the world.
Rutledge avoids the contentious issue of whether world oil production is reaching a peak and
focuses instead on the massive investment in exploration, development and refining that would
be needed if world productive capacity is to keep up with surging world demand. The focus of
this investment would have to be the Persian Gulf because the region possesses two-thirds of
world oil reserves. On the other hand, Persian Gulf producers have little incentive to double
production, which they would have to do to meet growing demand, since they could earn the
same or higher revenues from lower production and higher prices.
This background supports Rutledge's argument that the desire to assure access to adequate
supplies of oil at reasonable prices was a key factor in the Bush administration's decision to go to
war with Iraq. The September 11 attacks on the US not only provided an opening for the US to
move against Iraq but also underlined the disadvantages of relying on Saudi Arabia to ensure US
energy security. The oil industry ties of the President, the Vice-President and the Secretary of
State may have played a role in the decision to go to war, but Rutledge's discussion makes it clear
that, given the reluctance of Americans to curb their appetite for oil, almost any US
administration would have been concerned about access to Persian Gulf oil.
Even readers who reject Rutledge's argument that the US war on Iraq was ultimately about
oil can still gain important insights into the role of oil in US foreign policy. Although the overall
argument is solidly supported by careful research, it would have been stronger if Rutledge had
also analysed the role oil has played in establishing and maintaining US pre-eminence in the
postwar international system. In addition to being central to military power and economic
prosperity, control of oil has given the US leverage over its allies and its former and prospective
enemies. Finally, fuller discussion of developments in the North Sea, West Africa and Russia
would have made this valuable study even more useful.
David S. Painter, Georgetown University, USA
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