Oil has been a significant factor in the international relations of countries in the Middle East, both with respect to inter-Arab or regional relations, and international relations at large with both industrial and other developing countries. According to Fawcett (88), “preoccupation with oil has been paramount in shaping the attitude of the UK, and later the USA, towards the region”. Oil producing countries know that major powers attribute great importance to oil and thus try to take advantage of it to acquire guarantees for their security against internal and external challenges, and access to sophisticated weapons systems. For example, the US-Saudi relations can be traced back to 1933 when California’ Standard Oil put a signature on an oil concession agreement with the Saudi government (Smith 1). Therefore, this is an example of how oil has played a major role in shaping western relations with Middle Eastern countries. Also, strained relations between Israel and some Arab countries have seen oil being used as a weapon. For example, during the Israeli-Arab war in 1973, the Organization of Arab Exporting Countries (OAPEC) declared an oil embargo against the United States and the Netherlands for their support of Israel. This led to increases in price and an energy crisis.
Oil also has a fundamental influence on regional relations because of the dialectic oil-rich and oil-poor states. For example, the Gulf Cooperation Council which was established in 1981 was comprised of six oil-rich states namely Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Though many regional conflicts are more political as a result of different ideologies, oil has also been at the center of some conflicts. For example, the Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq was a culmination of accusations by Iraq that Kuwait was stealing Iraqi oil by way of slant drilling. Therefore, oil has continued to shape international relations of countries in the Middle East, both in the region and with international superpowers.
Works Cited
Fawcett, Louise. International Relations of the Middle East. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Smith, Jaden B. US-Saudi Relations: 8 Years as Partners. Arab News, 20 March 2013. Web. 24 April 2013.
