American Energy Diplomacy In 1970s And 1980s

Oil as a strategic resource, modern industrial society "blood" and its security of supply relationships with the people's livelihood and national security, has also become an important international political and diplomatic element. Many of the world major energy consuming countries depend on imported energy. Energy security of these countries is subject to the international energy market situation. So with the western world's growing dependence on oil, countries compete for oil resources, more and more intense. In order to avoid adverse disorderly competition and to protect the country's own energy security, energy issues in many countries will be included in national economic security and national security strategy and active in the international multilateral energy diplomacy.The rise of the United States as a superpower after World War II, but also the world's largest oil-consuming countries and oil importing countries, the international oil market plays a decisive role. That country's oil policy and the implementation of energy diplomacy have a profound impact on the development of the world oil situation. Particularly in 1970s and 1980s, during the era of the two energy crises, the U.S. oil policy changes. In the Middle East and other oil-rich regions carry out energy diplomacy on the world political and economic structure which have a profound impact. Therefore, during this period of American energy diplomacy has become a focus of Chinese and foreign scholars study.This paper illustrates the initialization, implement procedure and characteristics of the American energy diplomacy in 1970s and 1980s , based on plenty of the documents both in English and Chinese. Guided by the Marxism materialistic historical view and theory of international relations, this paper attempts to analyze the American energy diplomacy of 1970s and 1980s, in the context both of geo-politics, international political and economic aspects. This paper tries to set out in this particular period of U.S. energy policy adjustment and this adjustment of the energy diplomacy in the performance of the concrete implementation which reveals the impact of U.S. energy diplomacy, characteristics and constraints in this period. This paper is divided into three parts:The first part, describes U.S. energy diplomacy motivation in 1970s and 1980s. This part mainly analyzes American's international and domestic political and economic situation in 1970s and 1980s.This part also introduces during this period the background of the U.S. energy diplomacy, as well as, the United States developed a variety of energy policy in the period of crisis.The second part, focuses on the specific implementation process of the U.S. energy diplomacy in 1970s and 1980s.This part introduces the energy diplomacy of the United States in the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and the major international oil organization's. Because of different strategic position of the various regions, the United States has also used different energy diplomacy in these different regions.The third part comments on U.S. energy diplomacy in 1970s and 1980s.This part sum up America's energy diplomacy, on both its impacts,features,influences and constrains. The impacts include the change of international and domestic political and economic structure. Constraints include difficulties and challenges of the U.S. energy diplomacy in this period.