Why OPEC lasted while other commodity cartels collapsed

This World Bank analysis examines why international agreements to stabilize commodity prices (oil, coffee, tin, copper) almost all failed to hold their members together, while OPEC — the oil cartel — survived and shaped global energy markets for decades. The structural difference matters because it shows that not all cartels are equally fragile, and understanding why some stick together tells you something about how power concentrates in global markets.

Most attempts to prop up commodity prices through international coordination fall apart because members cheat or conditions shift, but OPEC's durability suggests that when one seller controls enough supply and can credibly punish defectors, even loose agreements can reshape global pricing — a pattern that repeats in other industries whenever one player gets structural leverage.