ABSTRACT

While dependence on fossil fuels has tapered down in the OECD states, demand has registered a one to one and a half percent increase on average over the last decade, mainly driven by record growth in Asia. Such increased demand is accompanied by various risks and uncertainties, such as price volatility, supply security, impending natural degradation, and, ultimately, the threat of political and social conflict. These risks are the broader issues of concern to both the Middle East and Asia.

The dollar/oil standard has come to be supported by strategic control of oil resources. The Middle East and particularly the Gulf represent one region where extending control over strategic oil resources becomes synonymous with maintaining the real and financial pillars of present day global accumulation. Maintaining efficient policies—social, political, and environmental—to hedge against risks and historical uncertainties is a persistent challenge. Security conditions in oil exporting areas create uneasiness with respect to energy policy and market stability, and they permeate decision-making at all levels of government and society. In this seminar, we will address the topic of fossil fuel dependence by questioning the theories and debates that surround it. The discussion will attempt to disclose the necessities and the choices that bolster the energy market, as well as explore the trajectory of this dependence and the socio-political aspects that result from it.