"Oil-exporting countries play an outsized role on the world stage. But analysts often misunderstand their importance, or fail to notice how much they differ from one another. Emma Ashford's new book is a deep and valuable analysis of the surprising and even contradictory ways that oil wealth tends to shape a country's foreign policy."―Michael L. Ross, author of The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations


"By exploring the many ways in which oil production influences foreign policy, Emma Ashford broadens our understanding of petrostates and the roles they play in international politics. Oil, the State, and War is an agenda-setting book."―Emily Meierding, author of The Oil Wars Myth: Petroleum and the Causes of International Conflict

"In this superb book, Ashford delivers a clear, systematic account of the distinct foreign policy characteristics of different types of oil-rich states. Her thoughtful, carefully researched analysis is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the critical role of oil in global politics."―Caitlin Talmadge, associate professor of security studies, The Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

"Oil has been central to US foreign policy for decades, but much of the conventional wisdom about oil is wrong. In this lucid and provocative book, Emma Ashford shows that oil wars are rare, oil supplies are secure, and the 'oil weapon' is largely useless. Oil does have a strong influence on petrostates, to be sure, just not in the ways that we have imagined. Scholars and policymakers will learn much from this account."―Joshua Rovner, associate professor, School of International Service, American University

"Oil, the State, and War is a book that helps understand the times we live in. It will be a great addition to the library of both the general reader interested in global affairs and the political scientist. Ashford's book combines, in a difficult feat, expertise with an accessible style."―The New Arab

"...Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates is a seminal study that will have special value for students, academia, governmental policy makers, peace activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject."―Midwest Book Review

"The book is written with clear prose and an avoidance of excessive jargon that will make it appealing to policymakers, college students, and general audiences, but also includes research and findings that will be of interest to academics and specialists."―History: Reviews of New Books

"The author provides a valuable contribution on the role that domestic oil production can play in the development and execution of foreign policy."―International Affairs

Emma Ashford is a senior fellow in the New American Engagement Initiative at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council and a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point. Her work focuses on questions of grand strategy, international security, and the future of US foreign policy. Ashford is a regular columnist for Foreign Policy, and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.