Book Reviews : Mats Hammarström, Securing Resources by Force. The Need for Raw Materials and Military Intervention by Major Powers in Less Developed Countries. Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Report No. 27, Uppsala 1986, 183 pp
| Author | Lauri Karvonen |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083678602100304 |
| Date | 01 September 1986 |
| Published date | 01 September 1986 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Book
Reviews
LAURIKARVONEN
Department
of
Political
Science,
Åbo
Academy
Mats
Hammarström,
Securing
Resources
by
Force.
The
Need
for
Raw
Materials
and
Military
Intervention
by
Major
Powers
in
Less
Developed
Countries.
Department
of
Peace
and
Conflict
Research,
Uppsala
University,
Report
No.
27,
Uppsala
1986,
183
pp.
Lenin
never
believed
the
old
saying
about
trade
following
the
flag.
In
fact,
he
made
a
point
of
arguing
quite
the
contrary.
The
inter-
est
of
the
western
’imperialist’
Powers
in
other
parts
of
the
world
was
determined
by
economic
factors.
Leninists
or
not,
many
still
believe
that
the
main
motive
behind
the
policies
of
developed
nations
vis-A-vis
the
Third
World
is
always
to
be
found
in
the
economic
potential
of
the
developing
nations.
Mats
Hammarstr6m’s
doctoral
thesis,
exam-
ined
at
Uppsala
University
in
May,
1986,
departs
from
this
general
notion.
Its
empirical
focus
is,
naturally
enough,
more
specific.
It
scrutinizes
the
link
between
raw
material
resources
and
Great
Power
intervention
in
the
Third
World.
More
specifically,
the
possible
connections
between
fifteen
strategically
sali-
ent
minerals
and
American,
British
and
French
military
interventions
in
less
developed
countries
in
the
period
1951-1977
are
examined.
The
book
does
not
contain
a
detailed
analy-
sis
or
presentation
of
Lenin’s
thinking
on
international
politics
or
neo-Leninist
writings
on
conflicts
between
developed
and
under-
developed
nations.
Rather,
it
uses
this
general
mode
of
thinking
as a
point
of
departure
and
formulates
an
empirically
testable
hypothesis
as
follows:
Given
a
conflict
situation
in
a
less
developed
country,
the
greater
the
importance
of
the
country
as
a
supplier
of
economically
and
mili-
tarily
essential
minerals
to
a
major,
capitalist
power,
the
greater
the
likelihood
that
the
country
will
be
a
target
of
military
intervention
by
that
major
power.
(p.
26)
The
first
part
of
the
hypothesis
narrows
down
the
focus
of
the
study
still
further,
based
as
it
is
on
the
assessment,
common
in
the
literature
on
international
intervention,
that
military
intervention
most
often
takes
place
in
on-going
conflicts
in
the
target
country.
The
rest
of
the
hypothesis
can
be
said
to
draw
directly
upon
Leninist
writings.
This
general
hypothesis
is
supplemented
with
two
specifications.
According
to
the
first
of
these,
intervention
is
expected
especially
in
countries
which
’belong
to
the
sphere
of
influence
of
major,
capitalist
powers’.
This
hypothesis
again
leans
on
previous
research
on
international
intervention.
The
second
speci-
fication
states
that
major
capitalist
Powers
which
are
’extremely
import-dependent
on
the
minerals
concerned’
are
particularly
likely
to
resort
to
military
intervention
in
the
kinds
of
situations
described
in
the
general
hypothesis.
Much
of
the
book
is
devoted
to
methods
for
the
systematic
testing
of
these
hypotheses.
Space
does
not
permit
a
detailed
examination
of
this
elaborate
discourse.
It
must,
however,
be
emphasized
that
the
author
is
very
clear
and
explicit
about
all
his
methodological
choices.
For
the
present
purpose,
it
will
be
sufficient
to
note
the
following:
-The
cases
studied
empirically
were
chosen
on
the
basis
of
lists
of
conflicts
in
the
Third
World,
compiled
by
previous
authors.
Two
basic
questions
are
asked
in
each
case:
Was
there
an
intervention
by
France,
England
or
the
US
in
the
conflict?
What
was
the
importance
of
this
developing
country
as
a
supplier
of
strategic
minerals?
-The
minerals
studied
must
meet
three
requirements.
They
must
be
of
military
as
well
as
economic
importance.
The
three
major
Powers
must
be
import-dependent
regarding
these
minerals.
The
position
of
the
Third
World
as
a
supplier
of
these
min-
erals
must
be
central.
When
these
criteria
were
applied,
fifteen
metallic
minerals
were
found
to
meet
them
satisfactorily.
Oil
turned
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