Michael Klare Bücher

The world is in a crisis of resource depletion that extends beyond "peak oil" to include shortages of coal, uranium, copper, lithium, water, and arable land. As easily accessible resources near exhaustion, the race for supplies has intensified, with governments and corporations exploring previously dangerous and remote areas. This exploration spans from the Arctic to war zones and deep ocean floors, exemplified by a Russian submarine claiming the North Pole seabed and the large-scale acquisition of African farmland by food-importing nations like Saudi Arabia and China. The consequences of this invasion of final frontiers are severe. As resource extraction becomes more complex, environmental risks escalate, with disasters like Deepwater Horizon foreshadowing future dangers. Additionally, the fierce competition for dwindling resources is sparking new border disputes and increasing the likelihood of military confrontations. If this relentless pursuit continues, many essential resources for modern industry may vanish entirely. Klare emphasizes that the only solution is to fundamentally change our consumption patterns, a challenge that will be paramount in the century ahead.

From the author of the now-classic Resource Wars, this account explores how diminishing global energy sources are reshaping international power dynamics. Recently, Congress blocked a significant Chinese attempt to acquire the American energy firm Unocal, sparking fears of a Communist threat. However, this incident highlighted a broader shift in global power structures, now increasingly reliant on access to vital natural resources rather than traditional market forces or military might. Michael Klare, a leading expert on resource geopolitics, examines the energy-driven changes reshaping the world, predicting new alliances and potential conflicts. World leaders are confronted with the reality that essential materials for modern industrial societies—including oil, natural gas, uranium, coal, and copper—are finite and depleting rapidly. Consequently, governments are taking the lead in resource acquisition, moving away from corporate dominance. In this transformed landscape, Russia emerges as a powerful broker of Eurasian energy, while the U.S. faces competition from the rising "Chindia" alliance. Klare argues that in this shrinking world, the path to survival hinges on international cooperation.

The book provides a critical examination of how dwindling energy resources are reshaping global power dynamics. It explores the implications of energy scarcity on international relations, highlighting the shifts in influence among nations as they compete for limited resources. The author, known for the acclaimed Resource Wars, offers insights into the geopolitical landscape and the strategic maneuvers countries may undertake in response to these challenges. This account is essential for understanding the intersection of energy and global politics.

In his pathbreaking Resource Wars, world security expert Michael Klare alerted us to the role of resources in conflicts in the post-cold-war world. Now, in Blood and Oil, he concentrates on a single precious commodity, petroleum, while issuing a warning to the United States—its most powerful, and most dependent, global consumer. Since September 11 and the commencement of the "war on terror," the world's attention has been focused on the relationship between U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and the oceans of crude oil that lie beneath the region's soil. Klare traces oil's impact on international affairs since World War II, revealing its influence on the Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, and Carter doctrines. He shows how America's own wells are drying up as our demand increases; by 2010 the United States will need to import 60 percent of its oil. And since most of this supply will have to come from chronically unstable, often violently anti-American zones—the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea, Latin America, and Africa—our dependency is bound to lead to recurrent military involvement. With clarity and urgency, Blood and Oil delineates the United States' predicament and cautions that it is time to change our energy policies, before we spend the next decades paying for oil with blood.