SA gets a good deal on treasuries (basically a bribe) in order to sell oil in dollars and then use those dollars to buy treasuries. US forces nearly all countr

SA gets a good deal on treasuries (basically a bribe) in order to sell oil in dollars and then use those dollars to buy treasuries. US forces nearly all countries to buy USD that eventually get returned as SA-owned debt (huge monetary policy benefits). SA gets more or less bribed by the worlds largest military. Awkwardness is when SA wants to do stuff that’s is against US morals (like murdering journalists) or when China firmly but politely asks to buy in RMB (like it has recently). US generally sees petrodollar regime as second only to the military (as evidenced by their eagerness to invade Iraq and gain leverage over SA).