The Oil Wars Myth

Do countries fight wars for oil? Given the resource's exceptional military and economic importance, most people assume that states will do anything to obtain it. Challenging this conventional wisdom, The Oil Wars Myth reveals that countries do not launch major conflicts to acquire petroleum resources. Emily Meierding argues that the costs of foreign invasion, territorial occupation, international retaliation, and damage to oil company relations deter even the most powerful countries from initiating "classic oil wars." Examining a century of interstate violence, she demonstrates that, at most, countries have engaged in mild sparring to advance their petroleum ambitions.

The Oil Wars Myth elaborates on these findings by reassessing the presumed oil motives for many of the twentieth century's most prominent international conflicts: World War II, the two American Gulf wars, the Iran–Iraq War, the Falklands/Malvinas War, and the Chaco War. These case studies show that countries have consistently refrained from fighting for oil. Meierding also explains why oil war assumptions are so common, despite the lack of supporting evidence. Since classic oil wars exist at the intersection of need and greed—two popular explanations for resource grabs—they are unusually easy to believe in.

The Oil Wars Myth will engage and inform anyone interested in oil, war, and the narratives that connect them.

Emily Meierding is Assistant Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.

Meierding's, The Oil Wars Myth [is an] admirable and well-researched book, therefore, challeng[ing] many existing assumptions about the nexus between international security, petroleum resources, and the likelihood of conflict and wars.

Meirerding's book is a great contribution to the literature on international relations. The book is an important read for historians, political scientists, and international relations experts interested in the connection, or lack of, between key commodities and natural resources, and interstate conflicts.

Benjamin Smith, University of Florida, author of Hard Times in the Land of Plenty:

The Oil Wars Myth is a welcome and thoughtful corrective to a long-standing and largely unquestioned assumption about 'classic oil wars.' Emily Meierding convincingly unravels this assumption using a structured comparison of conflicts reflecting the best of qualitative security studies—theoretically ambitious and carefully detailed. This book is an exciting new contribution to the study of resources and war.

Philippe Le Billon, University of British Columbia, author of Wars of Plunder:

Emily Meierding provides a much-needed critique of the concept of 'oil wars,' debunking simplistic assertions over oil-motivated wars to expose some of the underlying causes of warfare in oil producing countries.