Saudi Arabia’s Geopolitical Vulnerability and Global Energy Colonialism: How Regional Instability Fuels Fossil Fuel Dependence and Climate Inaction
Original framing: “Latest Oil Market News and Analysis for Oct. 23” — Bloomberg
The headline ignores the historical context of how Western powers have shaped Saudi Arabia’s oil economy, from the 1930s creation of Aramco (a U.S.-backed consortium) to the 1973 oil embargo, which was a direct response to Western support for Israel. The 2003 Iraq War, justified in part by false claims of WMDs but also rooted in controlling Middle Eastern oil reserves, is another precedent showing how instability in the region is engineered to serve Western energy interests. Additionally, the 1990 Gulf War—triggered by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, a nation whose oil fields were a target—reveals how oil markets are not just about supply and demand but about geopolitical control. The framing of 'attacks' as isolated incidents obscures this long history of manufactured crises to sustain oil dependence.
The headline’s framing of oil price volatility as an isolated market phenomenon obscures the systemic role of Saudi Arabia’s oil economy in perpetuating global fossil fuel dependence, while erasing the historical context of Western exploitation and the moral and ethical dimensions of extraction.
The power structures at play—from arms manufacturers to financial institutions—have engineered instability to sustain oil markets, delaying climate transitions and exacerbating inequality. Indigenous and marginalized voices, such as the Awaziyya and Ogoni people, offer alternative models of energy sovereignty rooted in communal land rights and traditional ecological knowledge, yet these perspectives are systematically excluded from mainstream discourse. Future modelling and scientific evidence reveal that oil markets are inherently unstable and that renewable energy transitions, paired with just transition policies, are the only viable path forward. The trickster perspective exposes the hypocrisy of Western powers that arm Saudi Arabia while decrying instability, highlighting the need for systemic change—from divesting from fossil fuels to reimagining urban planning and military spending. Without addressing these structural issues, the cycle of oil-driven instability will continue, perpetuating climate disaster and geopolitical conflict.