World Dominance

World power struggles have not ceased even after the bloody aftermath of World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. It would appear, that while the major powers of the world have no desire to fight each other outright, they do feel that it is necessary to maneuver in ways that insure others do not have as much power over them. The world’s energy supplies are the next great battleground for the great powers of the world. It appears that keeping oil flowing is not the only goal for these great powers. They seem to feel the need to control regions even if oil is flowing freely to their markets. This is thoroughly documented in Michael Klare’s Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on imported Petroleum. Russia, China, and the United States are all locked into an energy market struggle that threatens the entire world.

Energy sources were key components of World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Great Britain, France, and the United States sought out foreign access to reserves to fuel WWI’s growing ranks of tanks, planes, and other necessary vehicles. According to Klare, Japan’s preemptive attack on Pearl Harbor was made because Japan new that if it made moves to secure foreign oil fields, the U.S. would enter WWII in retaliation against them (2005). Whether this is the entire reason for the attack on Pearl Harbor is not established in Klare’s book. Despite this oil had a huge role in WWII because part of Germany’s campaign against Russia was to gain control oil reserves in Baku (Klare, 2005).  Oil Fueled WWII and, according to Klare, was one of the reasons for the United State’s fight against communism during the Cold War  (2005). Klare does not go much farther than the arguments for causes that deal with oil in his book, so it is sometimes unclear how integral oil was to a situation without more context.

As of 2002, oil and gas made up fifty-five percent of Russia’s export Revenue and made up forty percent of their government income (Klare, 2005). This has led them to secure certain positions in geopolitics to protect their economic wellbeing. Russia, like the United States, uses military supplies as an inroad to energy security in different regions. The Caspian Sea oil is very important to Russia and the United States, but Russia has also had a hand in the armament of Iraq, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (Klare, 2005). This includes military training, Russian forces on the ground, weapons, and combat vehicles. The Cold War has now been translated into a geopolitical contest that appears to use many of the same tactics of the Cold War with less overall tension.

China will also be a huge competitor for energy now that it has grown to be a crucial player. While late to the game, China will likely go after the same reserves as the United States and Russia. China was able to support its own energy needs through the Cold War and up to 1993, but its rapidly expanding economy has lead it to seek oil in the Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea Basin, and North Africa (Klare, 2005) According to Klare, “As of 2003, these [Chinese] firms had secured important ties with energy enterprises in more than a dozen countries, including Angola, Burma, Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Oman, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Yemen” (2005, p. 169). Just as the United States and Russia have done, China is supplying countries with weapons to get what it wants. Iran, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia are among those receiving various forms of military support from China (Klare, 2005).

The tone of Klare’s book leads to some frightening realizations. These three huge nations, not to mention other developed countries not mentioned in this book, have well exceeded their boarders and influenced powers in oil regions by supplying weapons and armament. To some extent arming one country with some technology may not be such a big deal, but when other countries are doing it too massive amounts of weapons are finding there way into regions that are flagged as being very unstable. While it is not Klare’s job to examine the moral implications of this kind of extended control, it should worry readers. If Economic systems can control other countries than were does it end and how can weaker countries safeguard themselves against larger powers. It is like the United Nations does not even exist. Klare describes Russia, the United States, and China as if they were countries without boarders. Very little is said about what is being done in country and everyone’s national security seems to depend on things that are completely outside their boarders. Apparently the only justification needed to influence other countries is to make it a matter of your own security. It becomes all about what could happen instead of what is happening. The implications for the future are also grim. With so many countries all going for the same energy sources, the reserves will not last nearly as long as any individual’s country has estimated. When reserves do go down it also seems unlikely that the countries with oil will share it indefinitely until they run out. It would make sense if developing countries eventually decided that there was only enough oil left for their own use once reserves have been depleted enough.  Because of this, major powers of the world cannot even guarantee that supplies will stay open until reserves are exhausted. Not only does this whole situation destabilize the region that the United States is determined to stabilize, it could lead to global conflicts that amass themselves in the form of a third world war. The boarders of countries and commerce need to be redefined to protect smaller countries. The larger countries are taking advantage and providing exorbitant gifts that are impossible to refuse for countries that have so little. The way this global economic system of powerful companies has taken over the interests of country governments is out of control. There need to be institutions that keep this kind of economic imperialism in check. These ideas are incredibly controversial and nearly impossible to implement in the current system, but it is at least important to think about them. The only thing that is certain is that somehow on some level what is being justified abroad is wrong. The strong are profiting from the weak and draining any resilience they might have had for the future. While the playing field may never be level for the players involved, there should at least be some lines that are defined enough to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

References

Klare, M. T. (2005). Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America’s Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum. Holt Paperbacks.