Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Why the U.S. Really Wants Venezuela: Oil, Power and the Multipolar World | Dr Kingsley Makhubela
Dr Kingsley Makhubela unpacks the deeper geopolitical forces shaping the tensions around Venezuela, global oil politics, and the evolving multipolar world order.
Venezuela possesses the largest proven oil reserves in the world, yet the conflict surrounding the country cannot be explained by oil alone. Dr Makhubela explores how global energy demand, strategic supply chains, and geopolitical competition between major powers—including the United States, China, and Russia—are reshaping international relations.
The discussion traces the historical nationalisation of Venezuela’s oil industry, the role of PDVSA, and how control over natural resources became central to domestic politics and global power struggles.
Beyond energy, Dr Makhubela examines new sources of geopolitical power in the 21st century, including:
Rare earth minerals
Semiconductor supply chains
Strategic maritime chokepoints
Technological dominance
Dr Makhubela also critically analyses the legal and strategic narratives used to justify U.S. intervention, questioning whether competing explanations—oil security, anti-drug operations, and democracy promotion—reveal deeper contradictions in global geopolitics.
As the world moves toward a multipolar international system, this lecture raises a crucial question:
What will define power in the new global order?
#Venezuelageopolitics
#USVenezuelarelations
#globalOilpolitics
#multipolarworld
#KingsleyMakhubela
#oilreservesVenezuela
geopolitics lecture
#usforeignpolicy #policy
#Chinarareearthminerals
Why the U.S. Really Wants Venezuela: Oil, Power and the Multipolar World | Dr Kingsley Makhubela
Dr Kingsley Makhubela unpacks the deeper geopolitical forces shaping the tensions around Venezuela, global oil politics, and the evolving multipolar world order.
Venezuela possesses the largest proven oil reserves in the world, yet the conflict surrounding the country cannot be explained by oil alone. Dr Makhubela explores how global energy demand, strategic supply chains, and geopolitical competition between major powers—including the United States, China, and Russia—are reshaping international relations.
The discussion traces the historical nationalisation of Venezuela’s oil industry, the role of PDVSA, and how control over natural resources became central to domestic politics and global power struggles.
Beyond energy, Dr Makhubela examines new sources of geopolitical power in the 21st century, including:
Rare earth minerals
Semiconductor supply chains
Strategic maritime chokepoints
Technological dominance
Dr Makhubela also critically analyses the legal and strategic narratives used to justify U.S. intervention, questioning whether competing explanations—oil security, anti-drug operations, and democracy promotion—reveal deeper contradictions in global geopolitics.
As the world moves toward a multipolar international system, this lecture raises a crucial question:
What will define power in the new global order?
#Venezuelageopolitics
#USVenezuelarelations
#globalOilpolitics
#multipolarworld
#KingsleyMakhubela
#oilreservesVenezuela
geopolitics lecture
#usforeignpolicy #policy
#Chinarareearthminerals
