Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War

Oil is the world's single most important commodity and its political effects are pervasive. Jeff D. Colgan extends the idea of the resource curse into the realm of international relations, exploring how countries form their foreign policy preferences and intentions. Why are some but not all oil-exporting 'petrostates' aggressive? To answer this question, a theory of aggressive foreign policy preferences is developed and then tested, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Petro-Aggression shows that oil creates incentives that increase a petrostate's aggression, but also incentives for the opposite. The net effect depends critically on its domestic politics, especially the preferences of its leader. Revolutionary leaders are especially significant. Using case studies including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, this book offers new insight into why oil politics has a central role in global peace and conflict.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction; 2. A theory of oil, revolution, and conflict; 3. Evidence and research design; 4. Quantitative impact of oil and revolution on conflict; 5. Iraq; 6. Libya and the Arab Jamahiriyya; 7. Iran; 8. Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolution; 9. Saudi Arabia; 10. Does oil cause revolution?; 11. Conclusion and policy implications.

About the Author :
Jeff Colgan is an Assistant Professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington DC, where his research focuses on international security and global energy politics. He has published work in several journals, including International Organization, the Journal of Peace Research, the Review of International Organizations and Energy Policy, and his article on petro-aggression in International Organization won the Robert O. Keohane award for the best article published by an untenured scholar. Dr Colgan has previously worked with the World Bank, McKinsey and Company, and The Brattle Group.

Review :
'Jeff Colgan significantly expands our understanding of the relationship between oil and war, explaining the domestic politics of oil's role in enabling revolutionary leaders to pursue aggressive foreign policies. Petro-Aggression presents a clear theoretical argument, which it supports with a wealth of qualitative and quantitative data. Colgan has made a major contribution to the study of energy security.' Charles L. Glaser, George Washington University 'There are hundreds of books on global security and oil. Yet it would be hard to find one as compelling and original as Petro-Aggression, which develops new insights into the foreign policies of countries that are both oil-rich and have revolutionary aims. Colgan's analysis breaks important new ground in the study of organized violence and natural resources.' Michael L. Ross, University of California, Los Angeles 'In Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War, Jeff Colgan provides an indispensable starting point for researchers interested in the relationship between oil and international conflict … he offers a theoretical foundation for future research on a topic likely to grow in importance over the next several years - both within the field of international relations and out in the 'real world'.' Rosemary A. Kelanic, H-Diplo '… this book moves the research frontier forward and will set an agenda for future work - particularly since the author has posted the replication data on his American University website.' Nils Petter Gleditsch, Journal of Peace Research 'Resource wars, including coverage of struggles over access to oil, have been the focus of many studies in recent years. This book, however, features a different angle: countries that produce significant amounts of oil that do not act aggressively to enhance their oil supplies, but instead instigate interstate wars … Recommended. Professional collections.' A. Klinghoffer, Choice