Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil

In Chapter 2, Mitchell explores the origins of the oil industry in the Middle East. Traditional accounts of this origin focus on “heroic pioneers discovering oil in remote and difficult locations” (8). This account suggests that oil was first discovered at Masjid-i-Suleiman (a city located in present-day Iran) in 1908 and led to the creation of British Petroleum (BP), which is now one of the largest oil companies in the world. Mitchell strongly disagrees with this account. Instead, he argues that oil companies and their allies intentionally delayed the emergence of the oil industry in the Middle East to maintain control over profits.

Mitchell turns to four ways in which oil companies and their allies in government and finance worked to delay or stop the construction of the oil industry in the Middle East. The first is by sabotage. Several of the largest oil companies at the time purchased rights to explore for oil in the Middle East. They promised the local governments that they would develop the oil region, including building railways and pipelines. However, these oil companies would then delay the development once they purchased the rights. Mitchell supports this idea with examples from Iraq (the author refers to Iraq historically as Mesopotamia), Egypt, Turkey (the author also refers to Turkey historically as the Ottoman Empire), and historic Persia (modern-day Iran).