Oil supply crisis : cooperation and discord in the West /

Studies about oil crises usually concentrate on their causes and repercussions on importing states. This welcome book focuses on a neglected aspect of oil politics: the modes of cooperation among Western oil importers during times of crisis in the major producing countries. Chakarova (Amsterdam Univ. College) examines this issue through seven case studies drawn from the period 1951-91; her framework delineates the theoretical differences between "neorealist" and "neoliberal" approaches. Each crisis is dissected in depth, but there is a confusing disconnect chronologically as Middle East wars in 1956 and 1967 and the Iranian Revolution in 1978-79 are in sequence, but are followed by Iranian oil nationalization in 1951, the 1980 Iran-Iraq War, and the 1990-91 Gulf War. No attention is paid to the Soviet Union, which was the most prolific producer and exporter much of this time. Also absent is the Western boycott of Iranian oil in 1951 in response to Teheran's nationalization policy. Considerable information is provided in this volume, but there are too many misspellings and grammatical errors and several factual mistakes. This study is not of great value to students and academics, but it should be highly useful to practitioners since it delves into governmental tactics used to cope with crises. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Professional collections. A. Klinghoffer emeritus, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden