Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil

Mitchell begins this chapter by discussing how scholars in recent decades argue that Islam is the root of the oil and democracy problem. These scholars point out that several oil-producing countries, such as Venezuela, Indonesia, and Nigeria, have alternated between periods of democracy and military governments. To them, oil revenue does not always prevent the development of more democratic forms of government. Instead, these scholars believe that the democratic model does not work in the Middle East due to Islam. Many of these scholars blame the US government’s support of conservative political regimes in the Middle East as to why this tension between oil, democracy, and Islam endures.

Scholars suggest we live in an era of “‘Jihad vs McWorld’” (203), a phrase first coined by American political theorist Benjamin Barber, which refers to the twin threats of tribalism and globalism. Western national economies’ drive to continuously expand the market around the world pushes them up against other nation-states (McWorld). The unrestrained globalizing market forces of McWorld has led to an increase in tribalism (Jihad). Both present a threat to democracy.

Mitchell finds this conventional way of thinking about the tension between oil, democracy, and Islam misleading.