Nature and Power in the Middle East: Beyond the Oil Narrative

Nature and Power in the Middle East: Beyond the Oil Narrative

Syllabus Areas:

GS II - International Relations

GS III - Environment

Alan Mikhail, Chace Family Professor of History at Yale University, in a conversation with Times Evoke, highlighted how natural resources—especially water and animals—have historically shaped politics, society, and economies in the Middle East. His insights go beyond the conventional focus on oil and shed light on deeper environmental and historical processes.

Background

The Middle East is often imagined through the lens of oil wealth and petroleum geopolitics. However, this perspective is too recent and narrow. Oil was discovered only in the late 19th century and is unevenly distributed across the region. A much longer and more influential factor in shaping Middle Eastern history has been water, along with agriculture, animal labour, and global trade networks.

Water: The Lifeline of the Region

• Rivers as Political Assets:
  • Major rivers—Tigris, Euphrates, Nile, Oxus—have historically provided irrigation and fresh water.
  • Whoever controlled irrigation networks controlled agriculture, and thus, political power.
• Seas as Connectors:
  • The Mediterranean linked North Africa and the Levant to Europe.
  • The Red Sea connected the Middle East to South and Southeast Asia, extending even to China.
  • The Persian Gulf became a vital route for trade and interaction.
• Agriculture and Commodities:
  • Staples like wheat, rice, and grains underpinned food security.
  • Cash crops such as cotton (Egypt) and tobacco (Iran) tied the Middle East to global capitalism in the 19th century, much like oil later did.

Nature and Politics: Irrigation and Power

• Earlier theories of "Oriental Despotism" argued that vast irrigation networks required centralized, authoritarian rule (e.g., Pharaohs in Egypt).
• Mikhail’s research, however, shows a decentralized reality:
  • Local actors and farmers with specific knowledge of geography, elevation, and water flow often held significant bargaining power.
  • Politics was contested and negotiated at multiple levels, not merely dictated from the top.
• This shifts our understanding of Middle Eastern governance as being more dynamic and locally grounded.

Animals: Engines of Pre-Modern Economies

• Before Industrialisation:
  • Animals powered mills, ploughed fields, and transported goods across long distances.
  • They shaped the structure of cities and trade routes.
• After Industrialisation & Colonisation:
  • Steam, coal, and oil displaced animal labour.
  • Animals were increasingly relegated to meat production, leading to “industrialised slaughter.”
  • Simultaneously, pet-keeping rose, reshaping human-animal relationships.

Changing Views of Nature under Colonialism

• Colonial and capitalist systems fractured traditional human-nature intimacy.
• Land, water, and crops were reoriented from subsistence and local needs to global markets.
• Examples: Egyptian cotton and Iranian tobacco became commodities for export, reducing self-sufficiency and embedding the Middle East in global capitalist chains.

Contemporary Relevance

• Water Scarcity & Energy Crisis:
  • Today, the Middle East faces severe water shortages alongside energy transitions.
• Iran and Nuclear Power:
  • Iran’s interest in nuclear energy reflects both political ambition and resource insecurity.
• The “After Oil” Question:
  • Gulf nations grapple with planning for a post-oil future, aware that petroleum reserves are finite.
• Political Implications:
  • Resource limits force political systems to make choices about sustainability, security, and economic diversification.

Alan Mikhail’s perspective broadens the understanding of Middle Eastern history. Instead of reducing the region to an “oil story,” his work shows how water, animals, agriculture, and local knowledge have shaped power, politics, and societies across centuries. For policymakers and students alike, this lens is crucial—especially in an era when the Middle East confronts the twin challenges of water scarcity and a post-oil transition.

Prelims Questions:

Mains Question:

• Examine how the Middle East’s geographical location and natural resources shaped its historical connections with Europe, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. (250 words)
• Resource politics has been central to Middle Eastern history. Critically analyze how resource control continues to influence contemporary geopolitics in the region. (250 words)
• “The post-oil future of the Middle East will be shaped as much by water scarcity as by energy transitions.” Discuss with suitable examples. (250 words)

Essay Question:

• “Nature has always been at the heart of power: Lessons from the Middle East.” (1000–1200 words)