The Geopolitics of Food Security in the Gulf in the 1970s

The 1970s defined the Gulf countries in geopolitical terms. Their role in global oil politics grew, and the world food crisis of 1972–75 deeply shaped their policies toward food security and agriculture. Against the backdrop of consecutive global food regimes, the article analyzes how the 1970s produced three legacies in food policies that would influence the Gulf countries’ reaction to the global food crisis of 2007-2008: an ill-fated attempt of Gulf countries to develop Sudan into an Arab breadbasket, the development of large-scale grain cultivation and a dairy industry in Saudi Arabia that was unsustainable as it exhausted aquifers, and the distinct role of Gulf countries in international food diplomacy via institutions like the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the WTO, and various national and multilateral development funds.