Naosuke Mukoyama’s Fueling Sovereignty: Colonial Oil and the Creation of Unlikely States is a groundbreaking contribution to International Relations (IR), historical political economy, and postcolonial studies. The book examines how colonial oil exploitation during the 19th and 20th centuries shaped modern states in regions where statehood seemed improbable. Mukoyama argues that the extraction and management of oil resources by colonial powers influenced these regions’ economic and political trajectories and created conditions for the emergence of “unlikely states”—entities that defied traditional expectations of state formation. Through historical case studies and theoretical insights, Mukoyama challenges conventional narratives of sovereignty and statehood, offering a fresh perspective on the enduring legacies of colonialism.
At its core, this book argues that colonial oil exploitation played a pivotal role in creating modern states in resource-rich but politically fragmented regions. Mukoyama contends that oil extraction by colonial powers necessitated administrative and infrastructural systems, inadvertently laying the groundwork for state formation. However, these states were “unlikely” because they lacked traditional prerequisites for statehood, such as a unified national identity or centralized authority. Instead, their creation was driven by colonial strategic interests and global oil demand.
Mukoyama introduces the concept of “separate independence” to explain how oil wealth and protectorate status enabled small colonial entities to resist mergers and assert sovereignty despite lacking conventional state-building factors. This framework helps contextualize why certain resource-rich protectorates, such as Brunei and Qatar, secured independent statehood while others failed. Mukoyama further argues that colonial oil exploitation continues to shape these states’ political and economic realities, contributing to ongoing challenges such as resource dependency, political instability, and contested sovereignty.
The book is organized into three main sections, each addressing a different dimension of the relationship between colonial oil exploitation and state formation.
The first section lays the theoretical groundwork. Drawing on IR theories, historical institutionalism, and postcolonial studies, Mukoyama argues that neither internal nor external explanations can fully make sense of what happened. He therefore covers two alternative explanations that he calls internal and external explanations, proposing a combination of the two, and in the empirical chapters, emphasizes both the agency of the local ruler and the interaction between the colonisers and the colonized. This section is particularly strong in its synthesis of diverse theoretical perspectives, making it accessible to readers from different disciplinary backgrounds.
The second section presents historical case studies illustrating the book’s central argument. Mukoyama examines regions such as the Persian Gulf, Southeast Asia, and West Africa, where colonial oil exploitation played a decisive role in modern state formation. Each case study is meticulously researched, drawing on archival materials, colonial records, and secondary sources. However, while Mukoyama’s case studies strongly support his argument, some—such as Bahrain—could have been more fully developed, particularly in explaining its political evolution beyond oil. A broader comparison with protectorates that failed to gain independence or deeper engagement with counterfactuals could have further strengthened his theoretical claims.
The author demonstrates how colonial powers established administrative structures to manage oil resources, which later evolved into modern state institutions. For example, he highlights how British oil companies in the Persian Gulf collaborated with local elites to create quasi-state structures that became the foundation for states like Kuwait and Qatar.
The final section explores the enduring legacies of colonial oil exploitation in the postcolonial era. Mukoyama argues that the “unlikely states” created during the colonial period continue to grapple with their origins’ consequences, including resource dependency, weak institutions, and contested sovereignty. He also discusses the implications of his findings for contemporary debates about resource governance, state-building, and global inequality. This section is particularly thought-provoking, as it connects historical analysis to pressing issues in modern IR.
This book makes several significant contributions to IR, political economy, and postcolonial studies. First, it challenges conventional narratives of state formation by emphasizing external forces, particularly colonial resource extraction, in shaping statehood. This perspective complements existing theories that focus on internal factors, offering a more nuanced understanding of how states emerge in resource-rich regions.
Second, the book provides a compelling critique of colonialism’s enduring legacies. By highlighting how colonial oil exploitation continues to influence postcolonial states’ political and economic realities, Mukoyama sheds light on the roots of contemporary challenges such as resource dependency and political instability. Mukoyama also engages with the political resource curse debate, arguing that oil alone does not create autocratic regimes but that its discovery under specific colonial conditions entrenched non-democratic governance structures. His analysis suggests that the timing of oil exploitation, particularly within protectorates, “froze” political development in ways that still shape governance today. This analysis is particularly relevant in an era of increasing global inequality and resource conflicts.
Third, the book’s interdisciplinary approach is a major strength. Mukoyama nicely integrates insights from IR, historical institutionalism, and postcolonial studies, creating a framework that is both theoretically rigorous and empirically grounded. This interdisciplinary perspective makes the book accessible to scholars, students, policymakers, and practitioners.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its sharp research and rich historical detail. The case studies are well-chosen and thoroughly analyzed, providing compelling evidence for the author’s central argument. Mukoyama’s ability to connect historical events to broader theoretical debates is particularly impressive, as is his attention to colonized peoples’ voices and experiences.
However, the book presents opportunities for further exploration. Mukoyama does explore other resources, such as coal, precious metals, and natural gas in Chapter 6; expanding this fascinating discussion further—perhaps with additional comparative cases—could enrich the book’s broader argument on resource-driven state formation. In fact, a broader comparative approach could further enrich the book’s analysis by illustrating how different resources shaped colonial economies and state formation in different ways.
Additionally, while the book’s deep historical focus is one of its strengths, readers interested in contemporary state-building might appreciate a more extended engagement with present-day implications. The final section makes important connections to modern debates, and expanding on these could enhance the book’s relevance for scholars and policymakers alike.
Finally, Mukoyama’s theoretical framework is both innovative and thought-provoking. A more explicit discussion of how his approach builds upon or diverges from existing theories of state formation and resource politics would further solidify its impact. By engaging more directly with these theoretical conversations, the book could inspire new research directions and deepen its influence across disciplines.
Overall, the book is a highly original and thought-provoking work that makes significant contributions to IR, political economy, and postcolonial studies. Its interdisciplinary approach, rich historical detail, and compelling argumentation make it a valuable resource for scholars and students alike. Mukoyama’s insights into colonial resource exploitation’s role in shaping modern states are both timely and important, offering a fresh perspective on colonialism’s enduring legacies.
In conclusion, Fueling Sovereignty is a must-read for anyone interested in resource politics, state formation, and colonial history. It challenges readers to rethink conventional sovereignty and statehood narratives while shedding light on contemporary challenges in the postcolonial world. By connecting historical analysis to modern debates, Mukoyama has produced a work that is both academically rigorous and deeply relevant to today’s pressing issues.
