According to the US Navy they have developed a ship that can be completely powered by seawater, eliminating their need for oil. Even though the plan turned out not to be as green as one would think, it poses the question, what if some ground-breaking development completely eliminated our reliance on oil? What would happen? Dr. Walter Ladwig III, an international relations professor at King’s College in London answered.
Say this sort of technology was created and was able to be geared towards powering our cars and homes, our reliance on these countries in the Middle East that provide oil, would greatly decline. Ladwig suggests that in Saudi Arabia specifically, we would see an intense Arab Spring if money from the US were to halt. This is due to the fact that many people who are benefiting from the oil money, are buying off those in politics, and without that money, the country would see a vast political change.
In contrast, in developing countries like Nigeria, a sudden decline in demand for oil would be devastating to the economy. A decline in power would also hit Russia, a country who heavily relies on the income of oil and gas.
When we think of new technologies that can power our lives it is easy to only focus on the good it will do for our planet and health. However, it is interesting to consider what this would do to the places that rely on the trade of this resource to keep the lights on. Would they find something else to generate money? Or would the reduction of oil usage devastate half of the world?
Source: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/what-would-international-relations-be-like-if-oil-wasnt-important
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