Resource Nationalism in the Persian Gulf: Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Natural resources have long been associated with strategic benefits and the potential to generate impressive economic wealth. Consequently, scarce and exhaustible natural resources have been moreover coveted given the prospects for even greater gains. However, competition over ownership rights to reserves can lead to tensions as well as conflict. Resource nationalism has been described as the case in which governments and/or ethnic groups lay claim to natural resources located within territorial boundaries for the purposes of ownership and control. This thesis examines the impact of resource nationalism on international relations and the shaping of geopolitics using the Persian Gulf countries of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as case studies. It employs a multi-faceted approach in which components of resource nationalism are identified and expounded. The materials of focus are oil and gas, both of which are present across Persian Gulf region and are the primary generators of revenue for each case study.

The thesis explores the dynamics of resource nationalism through various interpretations and manifestations, demonstrating its utilization in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, derivations of respective implementations are reviewed such as economic entities and militarization. In this vein, existing and developing ethnic tensions are also assessed. Afterwards, further unexplored and unidentified usages of resource nationalism are additionally covered. The research concludes by providing conceptual solutions for the shortcomings of resource nationalism framework, recommendations for tactical management of deficiencies, and prospects for proliferation.