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Oil and terrorism: an investigation of mediators

Author

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  • James A. Piazza

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

Abstract

Do states with oil wealth experience more terrorism and, if so, why? Drawing from the intrastate war literature, this study considers several factors that prospectively mediate the relationship between oil wealth and terrorism: state weakness; rentier state authoritarianism; corruption of government officials; income inequality; human rights violations; foreign military intervention; and heightened separatist activity. Based on structural equation modeling on a sample of 130 non-OECD countries for the period 1970–2012, the paper produces two main empirical findings. First, while onshore oil production increases terrorist attacks in countries, on- and offshore production and oil revenues from exports do not increase such attacks. Second, the impact of oil on terrorism is mediated through increased human rights abuses. Exploitation of oil is found to be associated with a worsening of physical integrity rights abuses that, in turn, lead to popular grievances that help to fuel terrorist campaigns.

Suggested Citation

  • James A. Piazza, 2016. "Oil and terrorism: an investigation of mediators," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 251-268, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:169:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11127-016-0357-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-016-0357-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Benny Geys & Salmai Qari, 2017. "Will you still trust me tomorrow? The causal effect of terrorism on social trust," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 173(3), pages 289-305, December.
    2. Benny Geys & Øystein Hernæs, 2021. "Party leaders and voter responses to political terrorism," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 187(3), pages 481-499, June.
    3. Todd Sandler, 2016. "Political violence: an introduction," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 161-170, December.
    4. Federico Carril-Caccia & Juliette Milgram Baleix & Jordi Paniagua, 2019. "Does Terrorism Affect Foreign Direct Investment?," Working Papers 1913, Department of Applied Economics II, Universidad de Valencia.
    5. Song, Yu & Chen, Bo & Hou, Na & Yang, Yi, 2022. "Terrorist attacks and oil prices: A time-varying causal relationship analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Terrorism; Oil; Resources; Mediation; Human rights abuses;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F51 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions
    • Q34 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Natural Resources and Domestic and International Conflicts

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