Oil

Crude oil runs through nearly everything we do, from the plastics in our hands and the food on our plates to the vehicles that carry us. For most of the twentieth century, the politics of oil revolved around managing plenty, the power of states, and the expansion of markets. That era has left behind shrinking conventional reserves, unstable prices, a warming climate, and persistent poverty in many nations that sit on large oil deposits. The industry is widely seen as needing reform, yet nobody appears to be steering it. As a result, a commodity this essential is left to the mercy of autocrats, traders and corporations, while economies remain tied to models of growth that cannot last.

Gavin Bridge and Philippe Le Billon offer an introduction to what is arguably the richest industry in the world, examining its present-day geopolitics. They move past the familiar arguments about peak oil and the so-called resource curse. Instead, they show how the sector has been reshaped by state oil companies that operate across borders, by rising Asian demand that is changing where consumption happens, by the anxieties and aggressive behaviour of powers in decline, and by the difficult choices involved in moving beyond oil.

As a new geopolitical order takes form, the authors argue that workable global governance of oil has become essential. They give attention to the growing role of civil society and to the gradual building of formal cooperation between producing and consuming countries. The book weighs the obstacles and openings for dampening price swings, reducing demand, limiting the expansion of high-carbon oil, decarbonising energy systems, and strengthening governance in oil-producing states.