Market Power Politics

How are the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Russian incursions into Ukraine and Georgia, and China's occupation of islands in the South China Sea related? In this book, Mark Crescenzi and Stephen Gent show how all three important moments in history are driven by the motivation to capture market power. Whether it was oil for Iraq, natural gas for Russia, or rare earth minerals for China, the goal isn't just the commodities themselves-it is the power to determine their price on the global market. They develop a new theory of market power politics that explains when and why states will delay cooperation or even fight wars in pursuit of this elusive goal.