How small states break oil sanctions: Israel’s oil import strategy in the 1970s

Elai Rettig, Ziv Rubinovitz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This article argues that small oil-importing states are particularly adept at circumventing oil sanctions and leveraging them to further expand their own markets. It points to the unique advantages and necessary preconditions that make small states successful in their search for ‘sanctions busters’ in the global oil market, especially when approaching countries that recently became oil exporters. Using declassified Israeli, British and US archival material, this article sheds light on how Israel capitalized on the 1973 Arab oil embargo to gain access to Ecuador’s market through its oil sector, but failed to repeat this success in Norway and the United Kingdom.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)730-760
Number of pages31
JournalJournal of Strategic Studies
Volume47
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Israel
  • Oil
  • embargo
  • sanctions busting
  • small states

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Political Science and International Relations
  • Sociology and Political Science

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