Review of Crises, Interventions and

Profits: a Political Economic

Perspective
Ercan TANRIVER
2015800417
IRL 5074-Readings in International Political Economy

Introduction

Written by Frank Stilwel, Kirrily Jordan and Alicia Pearce

Crises and interventions can be used by actors for profit.

Authors try to explain;

(i) how economic interests create crises,

(ii) how crises and interventions create business opportunities,

(iii) the macroeconomic consequences of crisis interventions,

(iv) the systemic political economic changes generated by crises,

(v) the associated tendency towards corruption, and

(vi) the neo-imperialist impetus that informs these interacting tendencies.

Crises precipitated by economic interests

Natural resources

Civil conflicts derive from control of natural resources.

Diamond revenues

Conflict between Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

Contd

Invasion of Iraq by US

main aim of US is,

to eradicate weapons of mass destruction

and regime change.

Crude oil

The Project for a New American Century

For privatization of Iraqi oil industry

Privative consultants

Crises and interventions creating business opportunities

The perpetuation of conflicts and the logistics of interventions can create

substantial opportunities for economic gain.

US government worked with foreign private contractors to rebuild

infrastructure in Iraq.

Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR)

To rebuild infrastructure of Iraqi oil reserves and infrastructure of

Afghanistan.

Private Security Companies

Security protection, military training, combat support and intelligence

services.

Legal space of private security guards

Contd

Natural disasters

The humanitarian concerns are not in question,

but the economic opportunities are equally in
evidence.

India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia,

Water and electricity privatization,

Instead of donations, money is invested in

the expectation of a profitable return;
instead of local needs being paramount,
contracts determine who is paid, and how
much.

Maldives

Crises changing macroeconomic conditions

West Germany and Japan

Maldives

The period of economic crisis not only produced opportunities for capital
investment in recovery and reconstruction, it also created conditions
conducive to economic modernisation.

War-related industries to civilian industries.

Crisis periods provide individual businesses with opportunities

Crises and interventions precipitating systemic change

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina

most New Orleans schools are in ruins,

The charter school

Before Katrina, there were 123 public school

and 7 charter school, but after Katrina, now
there are 4 public school and 31 charter school.

Crises and interventions have been used as

vehicles for the pursuit of a neoliberal agenda.

Crises and interventions conducive to corruption

Australian Wheat Board (AWB)

The UN Oil for Food programme

Saddam Husseins regime

Crisis interventions and neo-imperialism

The war was not only presented, but planned, as an exercise for the greater
good, and the motivations of crude profit have been masked by attempts at
nationalistic and humanitarian justification.

IMF and World Bank

Neo-imperialist Framework

NGOs and International Aid

This article has shown a systemic interdependence between the interests of

global capital and the nature of crises.

Liberals vs Social Democratic Reformist

Thank You For Your Attention