Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Should the United States ask its military to guarantee the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf? If the US security commitment is in fact strategically sound, what posture should the military adopt to protect Persian Gulf oil?
Charles L. Glaser and Rosemary A. Kelanic present a collection of new essays from a multidisciplinary team of political scientists, historians, and economists that provide answers to these questions. Contributors delve into a range of vital economic and security issues: the economic costs of a petroleum supply disruption, whether or not an American withdrawal increases the chances of oil-related turmoil, the internal stability of Saudi Arabia, budgetary costs of the forward deployment of US forces, and the possibility of blunting the effects of disruptions with investment in alternative energy resources. The result is a series of bold arguments toward a much-needed revision of US policy toward the Persian Gulf during an era of profound change in oil markets and the balance of power in the Middle East.
Synopsis
The United States has long-defined the free flow of Persian Gulf oil as a key component of its grand strategy. Since the late 1970s, U.S. military force has increasingly become the instrument for achieving this end. The American objective of ensuring the flow of Persian Gulf oil, by force if necessary, has rarely been questioned by scholars or policymakers since the Gulf became the site of U.S. military deployments. It is time to reexamine the U.S. military commitment to keeping Gulf oil flowing. Quite dramatic changes have occurred in world oil markets, the regional balance of power, and the limits of US defense budgets. This opens up the possibility that the United States should significantly revise its policy toward the Persian Gulf--both in terms of how it defines its strategic interests in the region, and the means it uses to pursue them. This volume brings together scholars of international relations and US foreign policy to examine the history and effects of the US presence in the Gulf and to weigh the costs and benefits of either keeping US forces in the region or pulling back.
Synopsis
Policymakers and scholars have long assumed the US must maintain a military presence in the Middle East to protect access to Persian Gulf oil. Charles L. Glaser and Rosemary A. Kelanic reconsider this policy based on analyses from a multidisciplinary team of political scientists, historians, and economists.