Mark Seddon, University of Sheffield

State-Private Networks and the Global Control of Oil: British and US Rivalry over the Venezuelan Oil Industry, 1941–1944

State-private networks have played a pivotal role within international power relations. Thus, analysis of the relationship between the nation-state and the private sector is vital to an understanding of world history. Rather than viewing the state and private sector as distinct entities that work independently, an analysis of the relationship between Britain, the USA and the oil industry reveals that such distinctions can become incredibly blurred. During the Second World War, the USA and Britain developed an economic and political rivalry over control of the global oil trade. This rivalry was particularly acute in Venezuela, which was the world’s leading oil exporter at the time. This paper analyzes the importance of state-private networks through a case study of the Anglo-US imperial rivalry over the Venezuelan oil industry between the years 1941 and 1944.

The outcome of Anglo-US competition was profoundly influenced by the involvement of multinational oil corporations. In order to control the global flow of oil, US policy-makers developed intimate ties with privately-owned oil companies. However, this brought the USA into conflict with Britain, which endeavoured to do the same. Support from the oil industry was often enough to ensure that a government’s foreign policy aims could be achieved without the need for discussion or collaboration with other states. Thus, state-private networks were a critical component of international power relations, often making traditional diplomatic channels redundant. This paper develops a more complex view of global history by emphasising the role played by state-private networks within geopolitics and international imperialism.