#46 - David Spiro : Iran, Petrodollars & the New World Order

We're joined by David E. Spiro, political scientist and author of The Hidden Hand of American Hegemony: Petrodollar Recycling and International Markets.

The book, published by Cornell University Press, challenged the standard story that petrodollar recycling in the 1970s was simply a market-driven process and instead showed the deeper political role of American power in shaping where oil surpluses went.

David’s central argument is that the dollar system has always been about more than economics. It is about trust, coercion, liquidity, state power, and the ability of the United States to shape global outcomes through the plumbing of finance. In the 1970s, oil exporters accumulated massive dollar surpluses after OPEC price shocks. Much of that capital flowed into U.S. government obligations and the Western banking system, helping finance trade deficits and reshape global debt markets. But today, the same system that once amplified American power may be starting to reveal its fragility.

We dive into:

• What petrodollar recycling actually means — and why the common story is incomplete

• How the 1970s oil shocks reshaped global finance

• Why oil being priced in dollars matters so much for American power

• Whether dedollarisation is real or exaggerated

• How SWIFT, sanctions, and dollar clearing became tools of geopolitical pressure

• Why gold is returning as a reserve asset

• Why Bitcoin and stablecoins may not challenge the dollar as much as people think

• How U.S. tariff policy and political instability are weakening trust in the dollar system

• Whether the American-led rules-based order is now breaking down

• Why China may be the biggest beneficiary of American self-sabotage

• The real limits of bringing manufacturing back to America

• Why rare earths, chips, and supply chains are more complicated than the headlines suggest

• Why the future may belong to societies that protect education, institutions, trust, and human thinking