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Oil abundance and violent political conflict: A critical assessment

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  • Jonathan Di John

Abstract

This paper addresses one of the empirical claims of the 'resource curse' argument, namely that oil abundance raises the probability of political violence. I argue that the two main theoretical premises of the oil-civil-war link, rent-seeking and the rentier state model, fail to provide a convincing argument as to why oil economies are more vulnerable to the onset of civil war. I find that three often-mentioned mechanisms as to why oil economies succumb to political violence not convincing; that oil economies are poor economic performers; that oil economies generate high corruption; and that oil economies tend to produce authoritarian regimes. I also examine the empirical evidence on the oil-civil-war link and conclude that the results are not robust. I conclude with some policy implications.

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  • Jonathan Di John, 2007. "Oil abundance and violent political conflict: A critical assessment," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(6), pages 961-986.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:43:y:2007:i:6:p:961-986
    DOI: 10.1080/00220380701466450
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2000. "Greed and Grievance in Civil War," CSAE Working Paper Series 2000-18, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
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    4. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2004. "Greed and grievance in civil war," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 563-595, October.
    5. Paul Collier & V. L. Elliott & Håvard Hegre & Anke Hoeffler & Marta Reynal-Querol & Nicholas Sambanis, 2003. "Breaking the Conflict Trap : Civil War and Development Policy," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 13938.
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    1. Mähler, Annegret, 2009. "Oil in Venezuela: Triggering Violence or Ensuring Stability? A Context-sensitive Analysis of the Ambivalent Impact of Resource Abundance," GIGA Working Papers 112, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    2. Ajide, Kazeem Bello & Alimi, Olorunfemi Yasiru, 2021. "Environmental impact of natural resources on terrorism in Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Mignamissi, Dieudonné & Malah Kuete, Yselle Flora, 2021. "Resource rents and happiness on a global perspective: The resource curse revisited," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    4. Yeeles, Adam & Akporiaye, Alero, 2016. "Risk and resilience in the Nigerian oil sector: The economic effects of pipeline sabotage and theft," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 187-196.
    5. Sheraz, Umar, 2014. "Foresight as a tool for sustainable development in natural resources: The case of mineral extraction in Afghanistan," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 92-100.
    6. Mähler, Annegret, 2010. "Nigeria: A Prime Example of the Resource Curse? Revisiting the Oil-Violence Link in the Niger Delta," GIGA Working Papers 120, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    7. Kolstad, Ivar & Wiig, Arne, 2012. "Testing The Pearl Hypothesis: Natural resources and trust," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 358-367.
    8. Vittorio Daniele, 2011. "Natural Resources and the 'Quality' of Economic Development," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 545-573.
    9. Shabafrouz, Miriam, 2009. "Iran's Oil Wealth: Treasure and Trouble for the Shah's Regime. A Context-sensitive Analysis of the Ambivalent Impact of Resource Abundance," GIGA Working Papers 113, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
    10. Hakimi, Abdelaziz & Hamdi, Helmi, 2015. "How Corruption affect Growth in MENA region? Fresh Evidence from a Panel Cointegration Analysis," MPRA Paper 63750, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Mihalache-O'Keef, Andreea S., 2018. "Whose greed, whose grievance, and whose opportunity? Effects of foreign direct investments (FDI) on internal conflict," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 187-206.

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