The world has changed and evolved variedly since the discovery of oil as a source of energy. And for the most of this evolution, world has exploited and processed oil in more than a thousand ways. The diverse utilities of oil are as magnanimous as water, but its scarce availability makes it a fiercely contested resource. A commodity, which has both political and economic implications. A fuel that holds the infamy of igniting wars more than all other geological resources combined. Even in today's peacetime, the tussle over it continues. International law has failed to reign the abrasive and ugly fight of oil that has ranged over decades. This book holistically analyzes "oil" on the pedestals of politics, economy and law, citing its unmatched relevance to the global discourse.

"When and why does international order change? Easy to take for granted, international governing arrangements shape our world. They allow us to eat food imported from other countries, live safely from nuclear war, travel to foreign cities, profit from our savings, and much else. New threats, including climate change and simmering US-China hostility, lead many to worry that the "liberal order," or the US position within it, is at risk. Theorists often try to understand that situation by looking at other cases of great power decline, like the British Empire or even ancient Athens. Yet so much is different about those cases that we can draw only imperfect lessons from them. A better approach is to look at how the United States itself already lost much of its international dominance, in the 1970s, in the realm of oil. Only now, with several decades of hindsight, can we fully appreciate it. The experiences of that partial decline in American hegemony, and the associated shifts in oil politics, can teach us a lot about general patterns of international order. Leaders and analysts can apply those lessons when seeking to understand or design new international governing arrangements on topics ranging from climate change to peacekeeping, and nuclear proliferation to the global energy transition"--

"This book addresses aspects of international law relating to petroleum contracts, examining oil and gas agreements between states and private companies and their intersection with rules of international law...The book covers topics such as the nature of international petroleum contracts, petroleum agreements as state contracts, issues of contract stability, the development of bilateral investment treaties, natural resource cycles, political risks and the specific petroleum policies of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the International Development Association."--

From Simon & Schuster, Energy and World Politics is Mason Willrich's fascinating study as published under the auspices of The American Society of International Law. As said by Walter C. Clements, Jr. of Perspective, Energy and World Politics offers a comprehensive and yet incisive introduction to the political, economic, and environmental aspects of global energy problems."

The Politics of Oil brings together legal studies, economics, and political science to illustrate how governments gain and exercise control over oil resources and how political actors influence the global oil market, both individually and in cooperation with each other. The author also investigates the role of oil in preserving regime stability, in civil wars and in inter-state conflicts, as well as discussing the possible implications for the oil industry from policies to combat climate change.