Unbalanced Globalization in the Oil Exporting States

Résumé

Oil-exporting states occupy a paradoxical position in the international system. Economically, they tend to be highly globalized, meaning dependent on international trade, finance, and labor. They are also the source of the world’s single most valuable commodity, and hence highly influential. Yet politically, they are strikingly unglobalized: they are less likely than other states to sign major treaties or join intergovernmental organizations; and they often defy global norms – on human rights, the expropriation of foreign companies, and the financing of foreign terrorism or rebellions. We refer to this combination of features as “unbalanced globalization,” and contrast it with the more balanced globalization of other countries. We also develop an explanation for it, based on the asymmetric interdependence created by oil wealth. We demonstrate empirically that oil wealth is associated with both high levels of economic and social integration and low levels of political integration; and that oil-rich countries shun precisely those international institutions that have a political character and that require legally binding commitments. While we confirm the conventional view that interdependence fosters political integration, we show that petroleum exports have the reverse effect.