Greasing Gulf Conflict: An Examination of Oil's Direct and Indirect Roles

Abstract

Oil is often directly related to the roots of war in the Persian Gulf. The region is dominated by a state-type that is derived directly from its petrodollar revenues. Understanding the source and extent of these revenues provides a clear indication of the nature of the conflict-prone Gulf states; because, as Edmund Burke wrote, "the revenue of the state is the state .. . All depends upon it, whether for support or for reformation ... (It is) (t)hrough revenue alone (that) the body politic can act"