Oil, Power, and Law: Energy Security as a Driver of U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East

This article examines how energy security has functioned as a central driver of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East since the 1973 oil crisis. Using a tripartite framework that integrates realism, securitization theory, and international law, the study demonstrates that American policymakers have repeatedly framed energy access as an existential security imperative. This framing has legitimized interventions ranging from military operations to economic sanctions, often stretching or bypassing legal constraints. Through four pivotal cases: the 1990–1991 Gulf War, the 2003 Iraq invasion, the 2011 Libya intervention, and the long-standing sanctions regime on Iran the analysis reveals a consistent pattern: material energy interests establish strategic priorities, securitization transforms them into political mandates, and international law serves alternately as a tool of legitimation or an obstacle to be reinterpreted. While the shale revolution and renewable transitions have reduced U.S. vulnerability to supply shocks, the Middle East retains geopolitical centrality due to its impact on global oil prices and its role in U.S.-China strategic competition. This study highlights the enduring paradox of American power: energy security strengthens U.S. influence but simultaneously erodes the international legal order it claims to uphold.