Oil And Terrorism In The New Gulf

Oil and Terrorism in the New Gulf examines the national security implications of U.S. energy security policies in the Middle East, and the emerging U.S. involvement in oil exploration and extraction in West Africa. Similar political, social, and economic challenges_poverty, corruption, lack of infrastructure, and weak governments_are seen in the oil-producing states of both the Middle East and Africa. Drawing comparisons between these two regions allows Forest and Sousa to formulate policy recommendations for how to handle foreign policy toward Africa in the future based on lessons learned from past interaction with the Middle East. Oil and Terrorism in the New Gulf promises to inform a lively debate over the future of U.S. foreign policies toward Africa and is a valuable resource for policymakers and the academic community that should be approached in a coherent, integrated fashion to ensure the success of the United State's energy and national security agendas.

Essay aus dem Jahr 2009 im Fachbereich Politik - Internationale Politik - Thema: Frieden und Konflikte, Sicherheit, Note: 1,6, Macquarie University, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Particularly emerging nations such as China, India, or Brazil will contribute to increased oil consumption, rising from 83 million barrel per day in 2004 to 118 million barrels per day in 2030 (Energy Information Administration, 2007). In the face of this situation, it comes with no surprise that "the world is now entering a challenging period for energy supply, due to the limited resources and production problems now facing conventional (easily accessible) oil" (Energy Committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 14.10.2005). Therefore, oil supply security has become a priority in political agendas and given an "extreme dependence on supply from the Middle East holding more than 60 % of the global oil reserves" (Energy Committee at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 14.10.2005) this region has become a focus for oil importing countries. Since this region has witnessed a variety of wars, conflicts, terrorist attacks and other disruptions that caused large losses of oil supply (Horsnell, 2000, p. 2) security issues in the Persian Gulf have become a matter of international interest in order to secure the oil supply from this region. In the following this paper will analyze major security issues in the Persian Gulf Area; such are inter-state conflict, the unsolved Israel-Palestine question, terrorism, as well as the problem of under-investment and domestic instabilities in some of the most important countries within the region. Furthermore, this paper will outline possible impacts of these security issues on the economic security in the rest of the world.

The US-led war against Iraq in 2003 represented the most dramatic shake-up of regional politics in the Gulf for more than a decade. This book contains an up-to-date analysis of central questions affecting the construction of a post-Ba'th regime in Iraq, and charts possible ways forward in other key states of the region such as Saudi Arabia and Iran. At the heart of the analysis lies the tension between the US-sponsored vision of a democratic, free market Gulf region and local resistance to this model. This resistance, appearing in the shape of alternative visions of democracy and the state, could potentially present a challenge to US policy through the spread of repressive policies or terrorism, especially if Washington chooses to sideline the social forces behind it. Conversely, if this resistance were taken seriously by the US, it could form a point of departure for more fruitful interaction between traditions of government from the West and local politics. Future developments on this important issue will be of immense significance for the management of some of the world's largest oil and gas reserves, with immediate implications for both regional political stability as well as for the world economy.

In his new book, Terrorism & Oil, Neal Adams discusses the vulnerabilities faced by the global petroleum supply and infrastructure in the wake of the war on terror. Beginning with the economic impact of oil, Adams educates readers on: worldwide energy vulnerabilities; potential terrorist modes of attack; oilfields and related targets; effective preparation and response strategies. Valuable to both industry and non-industry readers, Terrorism & Oil is essential for anyone working in oil-related professions or concerned about resource security. From tool pushers to engineers; from executives to government officials and financial advisors; from city planners to rescue and response professionals; everyone will gain insight from this study on oil security issues. Terrorism & Oil will not only help you understand the impact a terrorist attack can have on the global oil industryuwith it you can be proactive in facilities security and implementing a company-wide program. Contents: Section 1: Why oil terrorism - and why should we care?; Mechanics of oil U.S. and world oil supply; Oil as a weapon; Section 2: Strategy and tactics for oil industry terrorism; Oil as a target; General risk and exposure assessment; Federal coordination; Appendices; Glossary; Bibliography.

This book investigates the paradox at the heart of present-day Gulf of Guinea politics. The governance crisis festering throughout every one of the region's states ought to discourage outsiders from capital-intensive, long-term commercial involvement and cast doubts over the political survival of ruling cliques. However, the presence of large petroleum deposits radically changes this equation: the negative dynamics of state failure and widespread violence affect the general population but spare the oil nexus. The material and political resources made available by oil allow states to survive regardless of bad policies, facilitate their governing elites' material success regardless of reckless management, earn international allies regardless of erratic domestic conduct, and make companies want to invest regardless of risk. The recent oil boom only strengthens this paradoxical viability. Making possible what is arguably the largest inflow of resources into Africa in history, it is of a different order from the short-term viability afforded by the exploitation of other natural resources. Nonetheless, the partnership between insiders and outsiders that permits the extraction of oil is not conducive to positive long-term outcomes in institution-building or broad-based economic growth. Highly dependent on uninterrupted money flows and beset by various destabilising trends, the political economy of oil in the Gulf of Guinea is poised in a state of 'permanent crisis'. This study, based on extensive fieldwork, interviews and engagement with primary and secondary sources, is the first on the subject to take on the regional, as opposed to the country-specific, dimension. It has four key aims. The first is to bring out the extent to which oil has forged the interaction of the region with the world economy and how the ongoing expansion of the oil sector will deepen this pivotal role. Secondly, how this international relevance of petroleum has shaped postcolonial domestic politics and institutions. Thirdly, it examines the interests of different sets of empowered actors in the partnership between importers, producers and oil companies, their interplay, and the manner and contexts in which their goals diverge or converge. Finally, it analyses the sources of long-term sustainability of the political economy of oil in the Gulf of Guinea amidst seemingly unmanageable chaos.

More than any other part of the globe, Africa has become associated with conflict, insecurity and human rights atrocities. In the popular imagination and the media, overpopulation, environmental degradation and ethnic hatred dominate accounts of African violence, while in academic and policy-making circles, conflict and insecurity have also come to occupy centre stage, with resource-hungry warlords and notions of 'greed' and 'grievance' playing key explanatory roles. Since the attacks of 9/11, there has also been mounting concern that the continent's so-called 'ungoverned spaces' will provide safe havens for terrorists intent on destroying Western civilization. The Review of African Political Economy has engaged extensively with issues of conflict and security, both analysing on-going conflicts and often challenging predominant modes of explanation and interpretation. This Review of African Political Economy Reader provides a timely, comprehensive and critical contribution to contemporary debates about conflict and security on the continent. The first section, covers some of the continent's main post-Cold War conflicts and demonstrates their global connections. The articles also discuss the so-called 'resource curse', as well as the global arms trade, and reveal the complexities of the relationship between the economic and the political. The second section focuses on security as part of post-Cold War global governance, and discusses the effects of liberal peace-building as well as the link between development assistance and the 'war on terror'. The final section examines life as it continues in conditions of war and shows how insecurity reconfigures urban space, transforms social order, identities and authority. Rita Abrahamsen is Professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, Canada Published in association with ROAPE ROAPE African Readers Series Editors: Tunde Zack-Williams & Ray Bush

The Political Impact of the Sino-U.S. Oil Competition in Africa is an important contribution to the current discussions about the development and security implications of the US-Sino competition for oil in Africa's petro-states. The book focuses on the impact of the growing role of China, on these countries' acceptance of Western policies in general and those of the U.S. in particular. It uses recent U.S. attempts to promote democratic governance in countries like Chad, Angola and Sudan to show how China's competing presence in these African petro-states gradually reduced America's leverage over them. It demonstrates that the level of these African countries' vulnerability to Washington's policies depends on the intensity of the Sino-U.S. competition within their oil sector. The book also contributes to the corpus of theories on resource curse and interdependence through a rigorous review of existing literature, which exposes the inadequacies of existing analyses, and proffers new theoretical insights and methods of measuring inter-state relations.

The attacks of September 11, 2001, inaugurated a new global era of counterterrorism policy and activity, led by the United States. Countering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21st Century analyzes the most significant dimensions of combating terrorism, including considerations of strategic and tactical issues (hard power, soft power, and counterintelligence); the need to thwart sources and facilitators (weak governments, ill-conceived foreign policy, and trafficking in drugs, guns, and humans); and the incorporation of lessons learned thus far from combating terrorism around the globe. Since the dawn of the new millennium, combating terrorism has become a primary focus of security professionals throughout the world. The attacks of September 11, 2001, inaugurated a new global era of counterterrorism policy and activity, led by the United States, while many countries—from Algeria and Spain to Sri Lanka and Indonesia—have redoubled their efforts to combat their own indigenous terrorism threats. In the Unites States, the counterterrorism goals identified in the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism (2006) can only be achieved through significant multinational cooperation. These goals are to advance effective democracies as the long-term antidote to the ideologies of terrorism; to prevent attacks by terrorist networks; to deny terrorists the support and sanctuary of rogue states; to deny terrorists control of any nation they would use as a base and launching pad for terror; and to lay the foundations and build the institutions and structures we need to carry the fight forward against terror and help ensure our ultimate success. At this point in the development of the global counterterrorism efforts, it is particularly important to pause for reflection on a number of critical questions. What do we know about effectively countering terrorism? What are the characteristics of successful or unsuccessful counterterrorism campaigns? What do we need to learn in order to do this better? Countering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21st Century addresses these and related questions, contributing to national security policy as well as to our understanding of the terrorist threat and how it can be defeated. Volume 1: Strategic and Tactical Considerations examines issues of hard power, soft power, and intelligence/counterintelligence. Volume 2: Sources and Facilitators covers state failure, border controls, democracy promotion, networks and trade and trafficking, and societal issues. Volume 3: Lessons Learned from Combating Terrorism and Insurgency includes case studies of counterterrorism operations (e.g., the hijacking of the Achille Lauro, the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and the capture of key terrorist suspects like Ramzi Youssef and Khalid Sheikh Mohamad); and case studies of long-term efforts to combat terrorism (e.g., the Basques in Spain, the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, Israel's struggle against Palestinian terror organizations, Peru and Sendero Luminoso, and Japan and Aum Shinrikyo).