Oil and American Identity - A Culture of Dependency and US Foreign Policy

American dependence on foreign oil has long been described as a serious threat to U.S. national security, and continues to be a political flashpoint even as domestic fracking eases the US' reliance on imported energy. Oil and American Identity offers a fresh perspective on the subject by reframing 'energy dependency' as a cultural discourse with intimate connections to American views on independence, freedom, consumption, abundance, progress and American exceptionalism. Through a detailed reading of primary literature, Sebastian Herbstreuth also shows how the dangers of foreign oil are linked to American descriptions of foreign oil producers as culturally different und thus 'undependable'. Herbstreuth shows how even reliable imports from the Middle East are portrayed as dangerous and undesirable because this region is particularly 'foreign' from an American point of view, while oil from friendly countries like Canada is cast as a benign form of energy trade. Oil and American Identity rewrites the history of U.S. foreign oil dependence as a cultural history of the United States in the 20th century.

Product details

• Authors: Sebasti Herbstreuth, Sebastian Herbstreuth, Herbstreuth Sebastian
• Publisher: Tauris, I.B.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 18.01.2016
• EAN: 9781784531492
• ISBN: 978-1-78453-149-2
• No. of pages: 280
• Dimensions: 144 mm x 220 mm x 30 mm
• Series: Library of Ottoman Studies; Library of Modern American History; Library of Ottoman Studies; Bloomsbury 3PL
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; USA, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / International / General, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Petroleum, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Industries / Energy, International Relations, Social and cultural history, United States of America, USA, International Trade, Petroleum & oil industries, Petroleum, oil and gas industries, International trade and commerce