“Flying in Middle East Oil”: The Role of Middle Eastern Oil in Eisenhower’s ‘Containment’ Policy, 1953-60

Abstract

The present thesis investigates the role of the Middle Eastern oil in the Eisenhower policy of containment, the overall evolution of the presence of oil in the international economy and its eventual significance for the elaboration of the United States foreign policy in the 1950s and early 1960s. Modern research seems to overlook the factor of Middle Eastern oil in the study of the Eisenhower presidency, while the present research endeavors to illustrate that such an omission could be detrimental to the thorough understanding of Eisenhower’s policy of containment. The study starts with the investigation of the meaning of “policy of containment” and its development throughout the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, as well as the crucial changes the New Look introduced in the American-Soviet relations. It proceeds with the outline of the factual importance oil was gaining throughout the first half of the 20th century before Eisenhower entered the office, in conjunction with the concessionary system in the Middle East and the work of the major oil companies until the foundation of OPEC. The thesis is concluded with the elaborate description and analysis of the events that had to do with the Middle Eastern oil during the Eisenhower presidency, including but not being limited to the Iranian coup d'état in 1953, the Suez Crisis in 1956, and the proclamation of the Eisenhower Doctrine in 1957.