Oil Wars

Oil Wars by Guy Laron is a vital history of oil and politics, showing how the struggle to control energy corridors and chokepoints has shaped the modern world.

For the last twenty years, Putin's Russia has weaponised its vast resources of oil and gas, using them to dominate Ukraine and, with growing audacity, challenge NATO itself. However, this tactic is not a new phenomenon. Over the last 150 years, access to oil and gas has been repeatedly utilised as a tool to gain an advantage.

By examining the global picture—including regions like Vietnam, India, and Egypt—Laron charts the connection between oil, gas, and political power from the First World War, through the Cold War, to the crises of today. He illustrates how political actors have leveraged their power through key chokepoints: production sites, pipelines, and even refineries. Simultaneously, companies have lobbied states to block rivals and eliminate competition.

This has been a high-stakes game over the controlling heights of the world economy, one that continues until this very day.