"With this book, Bob Vitalis tackles the geopolitical "truths" about oil: that US presence in the Gulf and our relationship with Saudi Arabia is necessary to stabilize an otherwise volatile market; that US oil independence is necessary to prevent foreign powers from controlling and limiting...

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Tables -- List of Abbreviations -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter one. From Dependency to Codependency -- Chapter two. The Politics of Oil and National Security: The Beginning -- Chapter three. US Dependency on Mexican Farm Labor: The Development of a...

A Prelude to the Foundation of Political Economy is a groundbreaking volume of theory and strategy on political economy and polity of the twenty-first century. Distilled in concrete terms, it elucidates the enigma of oil in view of the centrality of global social relations.

Contents -- Foreword -- Cast of characters -- Captive narratives: a brief and unexceptional introduction to the history of firms and states -- Part 1. The nearest faraway place -- Arabian frontiers -- American camp -- The wizards of Dhahran -- Part 2. Desire's empty quarter -- Ayyam al-Kadalak...