This Occasional Paper summarizes the findings and argument of an edited volume that was published in 2007 by the University of Georgia Press as its lead study in a new series on contemporary issues in global politics, entitled From Superpower to Besieged Global Power: Implications for American Foreign Policy and Global Order.

Professor Hadi Salehi Esfahani reveals a curious correlation between the price of oil and dynamical U.S.-Iran relations, explaining economic consequences of ongoing political tension while offering practical approaches to abatement as well.