DETACHING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FROM ECONOMIC POWER: THE CASE OF INTERNATIONAL OIL POLITICS?

Economic development and economic power had for several years been viewed as synonymous with each other to such an extent that economic development could appreciably be said to stand in for economic power. By implication the two terms were used inter changeably for a good period of time and what was seen as economic development automatically translated to economic power. The case of international oil politics created a totally new dimension in international politics where in economic development was for the first time detached completely, totally and absolutely from economic power. International oil politics proved that a country could be economically developed than another country but the nation that is economically less developed may be economically more powerful than that which is economically developed. Economic power was no longer viewed from the context of economic development and by extension the elements and criteria through which economic development is projected became totally different from how economic power may be viewed. International oil politics indicates that a country may not necessarily be economically developed to be economically powerful and that a country that is economically developed may not be economically powerful, at least within a given circumstance and event. It is important to note that until the oil embargo days of 1973, it was impossible to believe that an economically underdeveloped nation like Saudi Arabia may be economically more powerful than an economically developed nation like the United States. This work therefore aims at building the major differences that exist between economic power and economic development and emphasizing the very important fact that creating a symbiotic relationship between the two like it had happened in the past was an anomaly.