The Saudi oil crisis, volatile leaders and the risk of escalation
Ever since Donald Trump’s election in 2016, nervous observers have wondered how the president would behave in a real foreign policy crisis. We are about to find out.
For decades, any list of global geopolitical risks will have had “attack on Saudi oil facilities” near the top. Now it has happened.
The good news is that the world is less vulnerable to an oil price shock than it was in the 1970s, when the OPEC oil embargo created turmoil in the global economy.It is also true that all of the major powers involved — Saudi Arabia, Iran and the US — have strong incentives to avoid an all-out conflict.
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Financial Times
Gideon Rachman is chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times. His particular interests include American foreign policy, the European Union and globalisation.
