New Book Explores Oil Security in the Middle East

January 19, 2018

Steve Yetiv

In his latest book, Steve Yetiv, Old Dominion's Louis I. Jaffe Professor of International Relations, explores, with co-author Katerina Oskarsson, the evolution of American, Chinese and Russian influence in the Persian Gulf over the past four decades.

"Challenged Hegemony: The United States, China and Russia in the Persian Gulf" (Stanford University Press, 2018) was co-written with Katerina Oskarsson, a 2013 Ph.D. graduate from ODU's International Studies program with whom Yetiv has had a long collaboration.

The book traces how the United States has become hegemonic and critical to providing oil security, yet challenged in many ways, sometimes by China and Russia, but mostly by the sheer weight of its own hegemony.

"The book tells the story of the unpredictable life of a great power in world affairs, faced with the profound challenges of translating its superior capability into real outcomes," Yetiv said.

Publisher Stanford University Press characterized the book as, "a panoramic study of hegemony and foreign powers in the Persian Gulf, offering the most comprehensive, data-driven portrait to date of their evolving relations."

The Stanford book comes on the heels of Yetiv's 2017 book "Advancing Interdisciplinary Approaches to International Relations" (Palgrave Macmillan). It was published with co-editor and co-author Patrick James, the president of the International Studies Association (ISA) and professor at the University of Southern California.

The book includes Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman who expands upon his pioneering work on cognitive biases, former ISA president Jacek Kugler who creates a model to enhance trust in world affairs, and Paul Zak whose work on the molecule oxytocin and cooperation is globally renowned.

"Advancing Interdisciplinary Approaches to International Relations" illuminates the causes of conflict by drawing on multiple disciplines ranging from psychology to neuroscience to gender studies. Each discipline or sub-discipline offers an angle on conflict, especially on the critical role of the individual which is given short shrift in mainstream international theory.

In addition to publishing 10 books, Yetiv has been a consultant to various government agencies and appears regularly in the national and global media. Among his awards, he has received the U.S. Secretary of State's Open Forum Distinguished Public Service Award; the Choice Outstanding Academic Book awards; and Virginia's highest research, teaching and service award (the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award), based on the rankings of 30 peer academic reviewers.

Asked about his next project, Yetiv said: "I have a book under review that uses 25 indicators to trace the past, present and future of oil as a global resource."

Yetiv said he was interested in this subject because so much is influenced by oil, including climate change, the power of energy-rich nations like Russia, terrorism, war, and stock markets around the world.

For more information on Yetiv's books, visit the Stanford University Press and Palgrave Macmillan websites.