Global oil geopolitics and US energy dependence sustain high fuel prices amid election cycles

Indigenous communities in oil-producing regions (e.g., Standing Rock Sioux, Ogoni people) have long resisted fossil fuel extraction as a form of cultural and ecological violence, yet their knowledge of sustainable energy transitions is sidelined in favour of market-based solutions. The Dakota Access Pipeline protests highlighted how energy insecurity is weaponised against Indigenous sovereignty, with pipelines framed as 'necessary' for national security while treaties and land rights are violated. Traditional ecological knowledge, such as the use of biofuels from non-edible crops in Amazonian communities, offers low-tech alternatives to petrol dependence but is excluded from mainstream energy discourse.

The current petrol price volatility echoes the 1973 oil crisis, when OPEC’s embargo exposed the fragility of US energy policy built on Middle Eastern oil dependence. US interventions in Iran (1953 coup), Iraq (2003 invasion), and Libya (2011 intervention) have repeatedly destabilised regional oil supplies, creating a cycle of crisis and profiteering. The post-WWII Bretton Woods system institutionalised the dollar’s dominance through oil sales (petrodollar), tying global energy markets to US geopolitical interests and ensuring that conflicts in oil regions directly impact domestic prices.

In Venezuela, where petrol is nearly free due to state subsidies, the narrative of 'scarcity' is inverted—price controls are framed as economic mismanagement, yet the country’s energy sovereignty (via PDVSA) contrasts with US reliance on private oil majors. Japan’s post-Fukushima energy pivot to renewables and efficiency measures demonstrates how high fuel prices can catalyse systemic change when political will exists. Meanwhile, in Iran itself, decades of sanctions have forced the development of parallel economies and barter systems, offering lessons in resilience that Western economies ignore.

Empirical studies show that speculative trading in oil futures (not supply shortages) is a primary driver of price spikes, with financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan profiting from volatility. The 'peak oil' debate of the 2000s underestimated the role of fracking but also ignored the geopolitical risks of relying on unconventional extraction methods. Research on energy transitions (e.g., IRENA’s 2023 reports) demonstrates that electrification of transport could reduce US petrol demand by 50% by 2040, yet policy lags due to lobbying by automakers and oil companies.

Artists like the Yes Men have satirised corporate greed in energy markets by staging fake oil company press conferences, exposing how 'market forces' are often engineered by a handful of actors. In Sufi and Buddhist traditions, the concept of 'enoughness' (e.g., the Middle Way in Buddhism) critiques the insatiable consumption driving petrol dependence, framing it as a spiritual crisis. Indigenous prophecies, such as those of the Hopi, warn of a 'great purification' tied to the exploitation of the earth’s resources, offering a moral framework for energy transition.

Scenario modelling by the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that a 30% reduction in global oil demand by 2030 is achievable with aggressive electrification, public transit investment, and urban redesign, yet current policies are on track for only a 10% reduction. The 'stranded assets' problem—where oil reserves become unburnable under climate targets—could trigger a financial crisis for petrostates and Western oil majors, necessitating just transition plans. Alternative futures include 'energy democracy' models (e.g., Germany’s Bürgerenergie) where communities control renewable energy grids, reducing geopolitical leverage.

Low-income drivers, particularly in rural areas and communities of colour, spend a disproportionate share of income on fuel, yet their experiences are excluded from policy debates that focus on urban middle-class commuters. Gig workers (e.g., Uber drivers, delivery cyclists) are often blamed for traffic congestion while their reliance on cheap petrol is ignored—despite their role in exposing the fragility of just-in-time logistics systems. Women in Global South countries, who bear the brunt of fuelwood collection due to energy poverty, are rarely consulted in energy transition plans, despite their intimate knowledge of sustainable alternatives.

The trickster figure of Hermes—god of thieves and messengers—embodies the duality of oil markets: it delivers 'progress' while stealing from future generations and marginalised communities. Bakhtin’s carnivalesque lens reveals how electoral politics turns petrol prices into a farce, with politicians performing outrage while maintaining ties to the very industries driving prices up. Anansi the Spider’s trickery in West African folklore mirrors how oil companies and politicians 'spin' narratives to obscure their roles, turning a crisis into a spectacle of blame-shifting (e.g., 'Iran did it').