Vibrant Matter and Non-Linear Geopolitics: Rethinking Resource Flows Through Complexity Governance

ABSTRACT
This article examines the evolving global politics of resources through two recent geopolitical flashpoints: the U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan-linked oil tanker and Ukraine’s naval drone attack on an India-affiliated vessel in the Black Sea. Using these events as empirical anchors, the analysis integrates Jane Bennett’s new materialist theory in Vibrant Matter—which highlights the vitality and agency of non-human forces—with David Chandler’s frameworks of complexity and resilience governance, which emphasise non-linearity and the distributed nature of global authority. The article argues that contemporary resource politics can no longer be understood through linear, state-centric models; instead, energy infrastructures, autonomous technologies, sanctions regimes, and market dynamics interact as complex ecologies that shape geopolitical outcomes in unpredictable ways. This perspective reveals how oil and maritime infrastructures act as “vibrant matter,” producing non-linear ripple effects across global systems, entangling major and middle powers, and challenging traditional notions of control. Ultimately, the article asserts that the global politics of resources has entered a non-linear era where agency is dispersed across human and non-human actors, making governance increasingly about navigating emergent systems rather than directing them through hierarchical power.

INTRODUCTION

Contemporary international relations is increasingly defined by the politics of natural resources, where the flow of oil and the infrastructures that carry it have become central arenas of strategic competition. Resources in a non-linear geopolitical era, best describes the position of this article. Recent events—the dramatic U.S. seizure of a tanker allegedly carrying sanctioned Venezuelan and Iranian oil, and Ukraine’s naval drone attack on an India-affiliated tanker in the Black Sea—reveal a world where energy movements no longer follow predictable, linear patterns but instead generate cascading geopolitical effects. In my view, these incidents confirm an old proverb: “The river may choose its path, but the stones beneath it determine its speed.” Likewise, global politics is shaped not only by state intentions but by an ecology of forces, materials, and technologies that interact in non-linear and often surprising ways.

VIBRANT MATTER AND THE MATERIAL AGENCY OF OIL

The U.S. seizure of the Venezuelan-linked tanker demonstrates this complex interplay. Coast Guard personnel rappelled from Black Hawks in a tightly coordinated operation, while U.S. officials insisted the vessel was tied to sanctioned oil movements. President Trump’s colourful remark—“I assume we’re going to keep the oil”—captured public attention, yet beneath these theatrics lies a deeper reality: oil itself exerts influence over political behaviour.

This phenomenon aligns with Jane Bennett’s argument in Vibrant Matter, where she proposes that matter possesses a vitality capable of shaping human actions and political outcomes (Bennett, 2010). Oil’s volatility, indispensability, and economic centrality give it a form of agency that compels states to act. Thus, the incident illustrates Bennett’s claim that agency is distributed across human and non-human actors. In my view, energy resources do not merely respond to geopolitics—they actively generate pressures that states must navigate, often producing non-linear and unexpected effects.

COMPLEXITY GOVERNANCE AND NON-LINEAR SHORES OF CONFLICT

A similar non-linearity emerges in Ukraine’s naval drone strike on the Dashan. Though the tanker flew Comoros colours, it was managed by an India-linked company, unintentionally drawing a major noncombatant into the ripple effects of the Russia–Ukraine war. Ukraine’s targeting of a vessel tied to India—despite India’s neutrality—reveals how conflict dynamics spill across boundaries, pulling distant actors into webs of consequence.

This resonates strongly with David Chandler’s writings on complexity and resilience governance. Chandler argues that modern global politics functions as a complex adaptive system where outcomes emerge from distributed interactions rather than top-down control (Chandler, 2014; 2018). Small actions—such as the launch of a maritime drone—can produce disproportionate consequences due to feedback loops within interconnected systems. In my view, Ukraine’s drone warfare exemplifies this shift: autonomous technologies interacting with global shipping networks, energy supply chains, insurance markets, and diplomatic calculations generate emergent effects that no actor fully controls.

RESOURCE FLOWS AS DYNAMIC ECOLOGIES

When examined together, these incidents illuminate an underlying pattern: resource flows behave more like dynamic ecologies than linear supply chains. The movement of oil triggers security responses, diplomatic recalculations, technological innovations, and market reactions that are intertwined in complex webs.

This reflects Bennett’s (2010) claim that material artefacts—from oil to tankers—participate in political life, and echoes Chandler’s (2018) insight that governance in a complex world involves navigating evolving ecologies rather than controlling predictable machines. In my view, oil, maritime corridors, drones, sanctions, and shipping markets each exert influence through non-linear interactions rather than straightforward cause-and-effect.

RETHINKING GOVERNANCE AND POWER IN NON-LINEAR SYSTEMS

This shift challenges classical international relations theories that treat states as the primary agents and global politics as a sequence of controlled transactions. Instead, contemporary resource politics requires an ecological lens—one that acknowledges the distributed agency of materials, technologies, infrastructures, and humans alike. As the proverb goes, “He who controls the gate controls the kingdom,” yet in today’s world the “gate” itself is unstable, shaped by energy volatility, technological disruption, and global interdependence.

From this perspective, global powers increasingly struggle to “control” outcomes in maritime resource politics because the systems they engage with are fundamentally non-linear. What emerges instead is a world where power is dispersed, consequences are emergent, and governance is less about directing and more about adapting.

CONCLUSION

In summation, navigating a vibrant, complex political ecology is ultimately, the best description of U.S. tanker seizure and Ukraine’s attack on an India-affiliated vessel. These revealed a global politics of resources defined by non-linearity, material vitality, and distributed agency. Oil behaves as vibrant matter; maritime corridors operate as living ecologies; and technologies such as drones reshape conflict in unpredictable patterns. These developments affirm Chandler’s contention that governance today relies on navigating complex, emergent systems rather than commanding them from above.

As global politics continues to evolve, it becomes clear that “the world is not moved by one pair of hands, but by a thousand unseen forces.” Understanding resource politics in this era requires acknowledging the vibrant, interdependent ecologies that shape international outcomes.

By: Hamza Salifu Iddrisu