Description
Book SynopsisVictor McFarland challenges the view that the U.S.-Saudi alliance is the inevitable consequence of American energy demand and Saudi Arabia’s huge oil reserves.
Oil Powers traces the growth of the alliance through a dense web of political, economic, and social connections that bolstered royal and executive power and the national-security state.
Trade ReviewThe extraordinary relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia has influenced both countries, often for the worse. There is no better guide to the origins of this complex alliance than McFarland’s new book. Anyone with an interest in the U.S. role in the Middle East should read it. -- Odd Arne Westad, author of
The Cold War: A World HistoryA lot of nonsense has been written since 9/11 about the history of United States-Saudi relations.
Oil Powers gets it right. -- Robert Vitalis, author of
Oilcraft: The Myths of Scarcity and Security That Haunt U.S. Energy PolicyMcFarland’s superb, deeply researched book convincingly shows just how crucial the U.S.–Saudi alliance was in reorienting America’s foreign policy and the global economy in the 1970s. The legacies of these policies—wars in the Middle East, the rise of finance, and others—continue to shape global affairs today. -- Vanessa Ogle, author of
The Global Transformation of Time: 1870–1950Erudite and eloquent,
Oil Powers is required reading for all those interested in U.S.-Saudi relations, oil politics, and the international political economy. McFarland makes a stirring argument for Saudi influence on the financialization and militarization of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East in the 1970s. -- Christopher R. W. Dietrich, author of
Oil Revolution: Anticolonial Elites, Sovereign Rights, and the Economic Culture of DecolonizationMcFarland charts the growth of deep connections between the Saudi government and American big business, lobbyists and other corporate interests in the Washington DC “swamp”, and shows how these have entrenched executive power in the US, and royal power in Saudi Arabia, with the result that both governments have become less responsive to their people. * Times Literary Supplement *
Suitable as a secondary text for a contemporary Middle East studies or international relations course or seminar. * Choice *
Erudite and eloquent,
Oil Powers is required reading for all those who are interested in the history of U.S.-Saudi relations, oil politics, and the international political economy. -- Christopher Dietrich * H-Diplo *
McFarland’s compelling narrative is laced with the panic of oil market experts who warn that America’s oil intensive economy rendered the country vulnerable to market manipulation that soon comes to pass. * Middle East Journal *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
A Note on Arabic Transliteration
Introduction: Jeddah, 1974
1. Wheels of Empire
2. Roads to Profit
3. Ignition
4. Machines in Motion
5. The Cutoff
6. Unmoored
7. Turning Right
8. Ascent
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
