Toiling for Oil

Often referred to as the ‘Oil Century,’ the twentieth century marked the rise of petroleum as a pivotal force in global economics and politics. While many studies have explored the political relations between oil corporations and the Iranian state, this innovative book builds an intricate picture of the social history of petroleum in Iran, after its discovery there in 1908. Through expert interviews and on-the-ground reports, Touraj Atabaki shows the seismic impact of oil: from the building of roads to an influx of migrant labour. Offering insights into the lives and challenges of oil workers alongside analysis of wider geopolitical conflicts, Toiling for Oil traverses two world wars, industrialisation and modernisation, attempts at nationalisation in the 1950s and the political crises of the late 1970s. An essential read for anyone interested in Iran’s unique position in the global economic landscape as oil continues to shape our world.

Table of Contents

1 Oil Discovery and the Formation of a New Iranian Society

2 Oil and Labour in the First World War

3 Oil and Authoritarian Modernisation During Interwar Period

4 The Second World War: The Great Powers’ Rivalry for Oil

5 Poised to Leap: Towards Oil Nationalisation

6 Sovereignty’s Interlude: Iran’s Oil in 1951–1954

7 From Disparity to Planned Development: 1954–1962

8 Oil, Workforce, and the Developmental State: 1960s–1970s

9 Shop Floor Labour Activism: From the White to the Islamic Revolution

About the Author

Touraj Atabaki is Senior Researcher at the International Institute of Social History and Professor Emeritus, holder of the chair of the Social History of the Middle East and Central Asia at the Leiden University. He is a past President of the Association for Iranian Studies (AIS) and European Society for Central Asian Studies (ESCAS). Previous publications include Azerbaijan: Ethnicity and the Struggle for Power in Iran (2000), and as editor, Men of Order: Authoritarian Modernization under Atatürk and Reza Shah (2004), The State and the Subaltern: Modernisation, Society and the State in Turkey and Iran (2007), Iran in the 20th Century: Historiography and Political Culture (2009), and Working for Oil: Comparative Social History of Labour in the Global Oil Industry (2018). –This text refers to the paperback edition.