Resource Wars The New Landscape of Global Conflict

From the oilfields of Saudi Arabia to the Nile delta, from the shipping lanes of the South China Sea to the pipelines of Central Asia,Resource Warslooks at the growing impact of resource scarcity on the military policies of nations. International security expert Michael T. Klare argues that in the early decades of the new millennium, wars will be fought not over ideology but over access to dwindling supplies of precious natural commodities. The political divisions of the Cold War, Klare asserts, have given way to a global scramble for oil, natural gas, minerals, and water. And as armies throughout the world define resource security as a primary objective, widespread instability is bound to follow, especially in those areas where competition for essential materials overlaps with long-standing territorial and religious disputes. In this clarifying view, the recent explosive conflict between the United States and Islamic extremism stands revealed as the predictable consequence of consumer nations seeking to protect the vital resources they depend on. A much-needed assessment of a changed world,Resource Warsis a compelling look at warfare in an era of rampant globalization and intense economic competition.

Michael T. Klare is the director of the Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies at Amherst and author of Low-Intensity Warfare, Word Security, and Rogue States and Nuclear Outlaws. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.