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Bringing Capital Accumulation Back In: The Weapondollar-Petrodollar... |
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by: |
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Jonathan Nitzan |
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Shimshon Bichler |
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This paper offers an alternative approach to the repeated |
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occurrence of Middle East energy conflicts. Our analysis |
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centres around the process of differential capital |
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accumulation, emphasizing the quest to exceed the normal |
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rate of return and to expands one's share in the overall |
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flow of profit. With the evolution of modern capitalism, |
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the dictates of differential accumulation become an ever |
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stronger unifying force, drawing both state managers and |
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corporate executives into increasingly inextricable power |
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driven alliances. |
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The Middle East drama of oil and arms since the 1970s has |
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been greatly affected by this process. On the one hand, |
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rising nationalism and intensified industry competition |
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during the 1950s and 1960s forced the major oil companies |
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toward a greater cooperation with the OPEC countries. The |
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success of this alliance was contingent on the new |
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atmosphere of scarcity and oil crisis, which was in turn |
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dependent on the progressive militarization of the Middle |
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East. On the other side of the oil arms equation stood |
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the large U.S. and European based military contractors |
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which, faced with heightened global competition in |
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civilian markets and limited defense contracts at home, |
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increased their reliance on arms exports to oil rich |
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countries. |
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Over the past quarter century, the progressive |
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politicization of the oil business, together with the |
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growing commercialization of arms transfers helped shape |
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an uneasy Weapondollar Petrodollar Coalition between the |
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principal military contractors and petroleum companies. |
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As their environment became intertwined with the broader |
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political realignment of OPEC and the industrial |
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countries, the differential profits of these companies |
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grew evermore dependent on the precarious interaction |
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between rising oil prices and expanding arms exports |
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emanating from successive Middle East energy conflicts. |
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At the same time, these companies were not passive |
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bystanders. This is suggested firstly by the very close |
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correlation existing between their arms deliveries to the |
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Middle East and the region's oil revenues and, secondly, |
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by the fact that every single energy conflict since the |
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1967 Arab Israeli War could have been predicted solely by |
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adverse setbacks to the differential profit performance |
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of the large oil companies! |
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Date Published: 2025-04-27 02:55:53 |
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Identifier: bnarchives_0013 |
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Item Size: 71478384 |
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Language: English |
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Media Type: texts |
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# Topics |
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arms |
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exports |
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accumulation |
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capital |
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capitalism |
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conflict |
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corporation |
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crisis |
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distribution |
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elite |
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energy |
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finance |
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globalization |
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growth |
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imperialism |
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GPE |
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liberalism |
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Middle East |
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military |
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national interest |
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neoliberalism |
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new |
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world |
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order |
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oil |
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OPEC |
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ownership |
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peace |
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power |
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profit |
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ruling class |
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security |
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stagflation |
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state |
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stock market |
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technology |
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TNC |
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United States |
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US |
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violence |
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war |
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Bichler & Nitzan Archives |
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# Collections |
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opensource |
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# Uploaded by |
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@blair_fix |
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