‘What They Need is Management’: American NGOs,the Second Seven Year Plan and Economic Development in Iran, 1954–1963

Following the August 1953 coup d'etat, the government of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in Iran embarked upon an economic development program. While financial backing for the program came from the Anglo-American oil companies running Iran's oil industry, Iran's semi-independent Plan Organization and its administrator Abu'l-?asan Ebtehāj turned to American non-governmental organizations for administrative expertise, in order to turn Iran's oil power into economic improvements and a basis for the regime's lasting stability. The work of these organizations was hampered by internal disagreements and divisions, discontent among Iranians over the foreign infiltration of their development program, and skepticism from the US government regarding the capacity of Iran to accomplish an integrated development effort on such a scale. Such feelings were influenced by cultural prejudices and perceptions of Iranians as corrupt and incompetent. Ultimately American non-government organizations were pushed out by the shah who seized control over Iran's development during the 1963 White Revolution. The course of Iran's Second Seven Year Plan illustrate how Western technical and administrative ‘know-how’ were tied to the efforts harnessing new oil wealth, and how the relationship between American and Iranian developmentalists was undone by politics, prejudice and opposing view of how progress could come from petroleum.     

Government,Business and Lobbyists: The Politics of Palm Oil in US–Malaysia Relations

This paper reviews how information was utilised by the disputing parties made up of producers and consumer interests in seeking and opposing the imposition of tariff and non-tariff barriers relating to the entry of palm oil into the US market. Information was used in a variety of ways to mould public opinion and influence official US trade policy. Producers, with the support of the Government of Malaysia, countered US efforts by mounting an information-based counter-campaign. This study examines how US-based opponents to the importation of oil palm used information to influence consumer opinion and governmental decision-makers. It goes on to describe countermeasures taken by Malaysian producers. These latter measures included counter-arguments challenging spurious claims made by US-based groups. The paper also reviews the role played, and the positions taken by the US and Malaysian governments. Malaysia, as one of the world's leading exporter of palm oil, reacted to preserve and protect the interests of various stakeholders in the palm oil industry. Measures taken included greater R&D effort, stronger trade promotion and countering spurious information. This study demonstrates how information was used by disputing parties to shape consumer opinion and develop a case for policy intervention by the respective governments.     

Obstruction as Power: Rethinking Britain's Caucasus Occupation 1918–20

This article draws on French and British archival sources to rethink the history of Britain's 1918--1920 occupation of the Caucasus. The extant historiography casts London as eager to reinvigorate the region's oil exports in order to buoy its own supplies, but this article suggests that various elements within and close to the British administration sought to obstruct oil exports. Preventing Caucasus oil from reaching global markets seems to have helped parts of the British administration reach their aims during negotiations with the French government and Royal Dutch Shell. It also improved the viability of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company by denying valuable oil supplies to rival firms. Acknowledging the British oil interests that steered state policies during this period allows a richer story to unfold, one that demonstrates how imperial power in the wake of the Great War could be brought to serve the aims of, and even adopt the methods of, transnational oil companies operating in an emerging global fuel market.     

印谱古籍中的印油老化研究

存世印谱中比较常见的一类病害是印蜕中印油老化导致的渗化问题。研究表明,印油渗化不仅会在印蜕四周形成黄色或棕色的油渍,而且会导致纸张pH值降低,影响印谱的长久保存。通过对印泥中常用的蓖麻油、菜籽油、茶油、调和印油等六种油脂进行模拟老化实验,发现油脂老化后普遍存在变色、pH值下降和渗化问题。采用气相色谱-质谱联用技术分析老化前后的油脂样品,发现油脂在老化过程中,不饱和脂肪酸含量降低,饱和脂肪酸占比增加,并形成了壬二酸等脂肪族羧酸。油脂老化过程中的成分变化,导致了变色、酸化、渗化等一系列问题。在印谱实物样品中也发现了饱和脂肪酸。在印谱的保护工作中,应对油脂的老化进行有针对性的处理。     

An oasis in a watery desert? Discourses on an industrial ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico Rigs‐to‐Reefs program

This article explores how in the years after 1980 a spectrum of historical actors came to see petroleum platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as a necessary part of the Gulf ecosystem and how such views affected platform removal policies. Through a discourse analysis of the Rigs‐to‐Reefs program, in which old offshore petroleum facilities were converted into artificial reefs, this article examines how actors presented to the public their notions of the relationship of the Gulf ecosystem with technological offshore structures. Through this case we see how ideas of technology and nature were mutually constructed via discourses and what affect that had on policies.     

The Euro-Arab Dialogue 1973–1978: Britain Reinsurance Policy In The Middle East Conflict

The Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD) was launched in the aftermath the Arab Israeli Yom Kippur War of 1973 by Nine European countries and the Arabs. The main objective was to create a stable, long-term relationship between the two regions. Despite its political intent, the framework of the Dialogue was restricted to multilateral economic co-operation in selected areas for reciprocal benefits. Due to inevitable obstacles, after almost five years of engagements, the Dialogue seemed to be progressing slowly with the development of only a few practical projects. Nevertheless, the British remained committed to the initiative, which they viewed as supplementary to their successful existing bilateral relationships, as well as an inexpensive but effective way to maintain their political and economic interests in the Arab world. Through historical analysis, this paper examines the British attitude and perspective towards the Dialogue from 1973 to 1978, mainly using archival documents available at the National Archive in England.