GEOG1982 1st Edition Lecture 13Outline of Last Lecture I. Middle East and AfricaII. The fertile crescentIII. Ottoman empireIV. MENAs peripheryV. Making the Middle EastVI. The Mandate SystemVII. Balfour Declaration Outline of Current LectureI. Oil, Islam, and the Middle EastII. 3 Threads of MENAIII. OilIV. Making Saudi ArabiaV. IslamismVI. Arab NationalismVII. US backed coupsVIII. OPECI. Oil, Islam, and the Middle EastThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.a. Largest source of oil (reserves and production) for world markets (US is largest consumer)b. Control over oil production shapes arrangement of political power in the regionc. The more secular government, the more independent of US influence d. The more religiously conservative the government, the more likely it is to have close ties to the US and UKII. 3 “threads” of MENAa. Oil: important of industrial capitalism, world system as we know it is a mix of its material qualities and how it is produced b. Islamism: emergence as a politically stabilizing force for oil productionc. Imperialism: mandate system’s legacy in shaping political boundaries and foreign influence in the regionIII. Oila. Material qualities matter:i. Unevenly distributed beneath the earth’s surfaceii. Enormous amount of energy by volume compared to other fuels iii. Extracted and transported above ground using wells, pipelines, shipsiv. Relatively low level of human labor required (again as opposed to coal)b. Oil pricesi. Oil prices do not reflect absolute scarcityii. Nor do they follow demandiii. They reflect market availabilityiv. The key to oil profits lies with controlling amount of productionc. Oil: a fourth wave of the industrial revolution?i. Invention of internal combustion engine – 1900ii. 1910: Navies of Britain, US switch from coal to oiliii. Canada, US (Texas) top early producers; Russia (Azerbaijan)iv. World War I: spike in oil consumption and interruption in tradeIV. Making Saudi Arabiaa. Back to Ibn Saudb. Rises to power in 1913-14 in eastern Arabia, gains control over Hajj route by 1925c. Bolsters control over route through alliance with Ikhwan (“brotherhood”), a conservative Islamic sect (who later turn on him)d. Oili. Depression interrupts Hajj, revenue for Saudii. Standard Oil (US) discovers oil in Bahrain, 1932iii. Standard signs exclusive contract with Ibn Saud, 1933 (beating out British interests)iv. First successful wells established at Dammam, 1938e. “Arab American Oil Company” (ARAMCO) founded in 1944f. US begins constructing its first military base oversees at Dhahran 1945g. No US, Europe “settler” population to colonize the region nor political standing to do soh. US relies on ARAMCO insteadi. Partnership is with House of Saudj. Ibn Saud’s control over a fusion of alliance with Islamists and oil companiesk. Alliance provides Saud with means to control “Saudi Arabia”l. Strong political control benefits ARAMCO’s operationsm. Saud counters external threat from competing sources of oil in Egypt, Iraq by supporting conservative Islamist groupsV. Islamisma. Islamism: conservative religious movement that promotes Islamic law, Islamic unity, rejection of Western influenceb. Not an inherent trait of Islam nor supported by all MuslimsVI. Arab Nationalisma. 1945-1963b. As mandates expire, new secular nationalist leaders emerge who challenge British, American influence in the regionc. By the 1940s, Communist movements also emergei. Iraq, Iran, Kudistand. Nationalists and communists call for “nationalization” of oil production, taking it back from the US, UK companiese. US support for authoritarian regimes grows as means of preserving access to oilVII. US-backed coupsa. Iran: replaces nationalist Mossdegh government in 1953 with the Shahb. Iraq: support Saddam Hussein in 1963 coup against Communist-backed threat, continues support through Iraq-Iran war (1980-1988)c. Egypt: supports establishment of military government in 1981d. US and Islamismi. US support for Islamist movements as counter to nationalism, communism, means to maintain control over oil and regionVIII. OPECa. Origins in 1949 alliance between Iran and Venezuelab. Founded in 1960 by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Venezuelac. Cartel: agreement between producers to control price and marketd. Supra-national organization: agreement between