Security implications of Peak Oil on Germany

Master’s Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Economics - International Economic Relations, grade: Very Good, Queen’s University Belfast (School of Politics, International Studies, and Philosophy), language: English, abstract: The modern economy and modern ways of life are dependent upon oil. The global addiction to oil is fostering our way of life, but also causes conflicts and international crisis. But oil is a finite, non-renewable resource and we may have already, or will soon, pass ’peak oil’, the maximum point of extraction of oil from the planet. Peak oil therefore heralds a declining supply of this vital resource. Declining oil resources affecting the Bundeswehr today with the pressure of increasing costs for material and domestic training of their soldiers, and for their missions abroad in the framework of the UN and alliances. The vital importance of oil for the German economy is known, which leads to power for lobby groups and to support from the German government. The security politics of oil of the German government to supplier countries leads to dilemmas with their foreign policy values and provokes real political decisions, which are ranging to the society and its awareness of peak oil. The decline of oil will change the shape of our world. Germany is on the one hand an example of how to handle with this challenge and it is on the other hand an example of how to turn the attention away from this problem. Peak oil opens opportunities which need to be seized. Ignoring it runs the risk of jeopardising Germany’s future development.