Opec and the Third World: The Politics of Aid

"The principal victims of the oil price rises engineered by OPEC during the 1970s were the poorest countries of the Third World. Not only did they have to pay for higher oil prices but they also saw their export earnings suffer because of the economic slump in the industrialised world that was caused partly by OPeC's price increases. Despite these hardships many Third World countries hoped that a new partnership could be created between them and OPEC which would lead to a large influx of OPEC capital into their economies, followed by increased trade and closer economic interaction. Most OPEC member states did feel responsibility towards the Third World and they began to provide considerable sums of money in foreign aid and created a range of new national and international development institutions. They also stimulated the global debate on the reform of the international economic order in the late 1970s. et after almost ten years OPEC's performance in assisting development in the Third World has fallen short of the expectations generated by its early declarations. OPEC and the Third World seeks to explain why the OPEC countries failed to achieve the goals they set for themselves. It focuses principally on the use of foreign aid by the members of OPEC and demonstrates how the divisive elements both within OPEC and between OPEC and the rest of the Third World prevented OPEC from using aid to advance Third World objectives. This in-depth study will be of interest to all those concerned with Third World politics, development assistance, Middle East regional economics and political and security issues." -from the dust jacket