Black Gold and Blackmail

Black Gold and Blackmail by Rosemary Kelanic ’02 seeks to explain why great powers adopt such different strategies to protect access to oil. Kelanic argues that two variables—deficit (domestic production vs. need) and disruptibility (the susceptibility of imports to blockade)—predict a state’s vulnerability and thus how willing it will be to pursue particular strategies. (Cornell University Press, 2020)

"Rosemary Kelanic's theory of strategic anticipation helps fill that gap while challenging conventional explanations of recent great power behavior in the shadow of war." —John Duffield, Georgia State University, author of Over a Barrel and Fuels Paradise

Rosemary A. Kelanic is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame, and co-editor of Crude Strategy. Follow her on Twitter @RKelanic.