8
He has been focusing on the important role of oil over the past century and
believes that since World War I oil has become an industrial and military source of
energy, and countries that have huge oil reserves have been infiltrated. Morgenthau
is of the opinion that the need for oil has changed the magnitude of the power of
large states, and, for example, the Soviet Union became more powerful due to selfsufficiency in oil and Japan has become weaker because of its deprivation. The great
powers are trying to control these reserves (especially in the Middle East) and
depriving their competitors of access to them, and as a result, change the distribution of power in their favor. Also, through the use of oil diplomacy, the creation of
penetration zones that can allow exclusive access to the oil reserves of some areas
gives them the upper hand in those areas (Morgenthau 1973:110–111).
This view of Morgenthau means that different forms of power are capable of
converting to one another; it means that the perceptions of government leaders as
having or not having energy resources within their geography do not matter; in other
words, in this theory, the geography of energy in the world is important, but the
geopolitics of the world’s energy is not much touched, or in terms of Morgenthau,
given that countries all have power, the role of energy resources is assumed
(Morgenthau 1973:110–111).
For Morgenthau, these two reasons lead to a leap of power: First, oil-exporting
countries have been controlling trade and oil prices. This means controlled trade
instead of free trade or a colonial commercial model of oil consuming countries.
Secondly, because of the scarcity of resources and increased demand, the buyer’s
market has become a market vendor. A government that lacks power in all its dimensions and can not be regarded as the main force in the traditional sense of power can
be enormous, and even in some circumstances, it has a decisive role in relation to
countries where all aspects of power other than oil reserves have the right to play
(Morgenthau 1973:110–111).
Hegemony and Pipelines
From this perspective, energy and energy transmission pipelines are key components of hegemony and a mechanism that enables governments to take part in foreign trade in the global trading system. In this regard, the energy and pipelines of
energy transmission, while attracting foreign investment and providing a suitable
basis for the development of regional cooperation, strengthen the economic infrastructure, increase the influence and also the political role of countries in the equations can be an important instrument of diplomacy to achieve the economic,
political, and bilateral cultural and multilateral goals of the two countries and to
strengthen the cooperation between the three neighbors and consolidate regional
peace and stability (Sovacool 2009:2356).
Given that the USA’s primary concern of identifying policies directed to the
region was the protection of its economic benefits, the focus of the interest is naturally on oil because the USA and Western Allies, who have become increasingly
1 Theoretical Framework
He has been focusing on the important role of oil over the past century and
believes that since World War I oil has become an industrial and military source of
energy, and countries that have huge oil reserves have been infiltrated. Morgenthau
is of the opinion that the need for oil has changed the magnitude of the power of
large states, and, for example, the Soviet Union became more powerful due to selfsufficiency in oil and Japan has become weaker because of its deprivation. The great
powers are trying to control these reserves (especially in the Middle East) and
depriving their competitors of access to them, and as a result, change the distribution of power in their favor. Also, through the use of oil diplomacy, the creation of
penetration zones that can allow exclusive access to the oil reserves of some areas
gives them the upper hand in those areas (Morgenthau 1973:110–111).
This view of Morgenthau means that different forms of power are capable of
converting to one another; it means that the perceptions of government leaders as
having or not having energy resources within their geography do not matter; in other
words, in this theory, the geography of energy in the world is important, but the
geopolitics of the world’s energy is not much touched, or in terms of Morgenthau,
given that countries all have power, the role of energy resources is assumed
(Morgenthau 1973:110–111).
For Morgenthau, these two reasons lead to a leap of power: First, oil-exporting
countries have been controlling trade and oil prices. This means controlled trade
instead of free trade or a colonial commercial model of oil consuming countries.
Secondly, because of the scarcity of resources and increased demand, the buyer’s
market has become a market vendor. A government that lacks power in all its dimensions and can not be regarded as the main force in the traditional sense of power can
be enormous, and even in some circumstances, it has a decisive role in relation to
countries where all aspects of power other than oil reserves have the right to play
(Morgenthau 1973:110–111).
Hegemony and Pipelines
From this perspective, energy and energy transmission pipelines are key components of hegemony and a mechanism that enables governments to take part in foreign trade in the global trading system. In this regard, the energy and pipelines of
energy transmission, while attracting foreign investment and providing a suitable
basis for the development of regional cooperation, strengthen the economic infrastructure, increase the influence and also the political role of countries in the equations can be an important instrument of diplomacy to achieve the economic,
political, and bilateral cultural and multilateral goals of the two countries and to
strengthen the cooperation between the three neighbors and consolidate regional
peace and stability (Sovacool 2009:2356).
Given that the USA’s primary concern of identifying policies directed to the
region was the protection of its economic benefits, the focus of the interest is naturally on oil because the USA and Western Allies, who have become increasingly
1 Theoretical Framework