THE ROLE OF OIL IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL RELATIONS

Abstract

This research focuses on the vital significance of oil in influencing international political relations, starting from the fact that the oil has long ceased being an economic good to turn into a geopolitical asset and the primary means of exerting geopolitical pressure. This research will show how the oil redefines the alliances among states, providing producers with ample leverage and requiring consumers to make their foreign policy and national security dependent on the availability of oil. Besides, this paper will study the connection between oil and international disputes and wars – either by directly causing such events or by funding and financing them, as well as through imposing and enacting sanctions. The sensitivity of markets to geopolitics in the regions of production and transport is one of the issues under consideration here. Political importance of OPEC and oil cartels and their impact on controlling production and handling crises will be discussed. Finally, the research will try to predict the role of oil in the future amid the rise of renewable energy sources worldwide