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Righting the Resource Curse: Institutional Politics and State Capabilities in Edo State, Nigeria

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  • Doug Porter
  • Michael Watts

Abstract

The poor record of liberal reforms sponsored by the international community in postcolonial settings underscores the real politik of institutional change. What we call a ‘new normal’ in development policy and practice foregrounds the role of agency – leadership, networks of connectors and convenors, entrepreneurs and activists – but it has less to say about the political and economic conditions of possibility in which agents operate. The putative powers of agency seem most challenged in contexts of extreme resource dependency and the resource curse. The particular case of Edo, a state in the oil rich Niger delta region of Nigeria, illustrates the intersection of agency and structural conditions to show how ‘asymmetric capabilities’ can emerge to create, constrain and make possible particular reform options.

Suggested Citation

  • Doug Porter & Michael Watts, 2017. "Righting the Resource Curse: Institutional Politics and State Capabilities in Edo State, Nigeria," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(2), pages 249-263, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:53:y:2017:i:2:p:249-263
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2016.1160062
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2013. "Escaping Capability Traps Through Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 234-244.
    2. Andrews, Matt & Pritchett, Lant & Woolcock, Michael, 2013. "Escaping Capability Traps Through Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 234-244.
    3. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-64 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. World Bank, 2010. "Mali - Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Review : Public Financial Management Performance Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 2846, The World Bank Group.
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    1. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Destek, Mehmet Akif & Okumus, Ilyas & Sinha, Avik, 2019. "An empirical note on comparison between resource abundance and resource dependence in resource abundant countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 47-55.
    2. Anindita Adhikari & Vasudha Chhotray, 2020. "The Political Construction of Extractive Regimes in Two Newly Created Indian States: A Comparative Analysis of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 51(3), pages 843-873, May.
    3. Olatunji Abdul Shobande & Joseph Onuche Enemona, 2021. "A Multivariate VAR Model for Evaluating Sustainable Finance and Natural Resource Curse in West Africa: Evidence from Nigeria and Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Christian Omobhude & Shih-Hsin Chen, 2019. "Social Innovation for Sustainability: The Case of Oil Producing Communities in the Niger Delta region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-26, November.
    5. Sam Hickey, 2019. "The politics of state capacity and development in Africa - Reframing and researching ‘pockets of effectiveness’," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-117-19, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    6. Olatunji Abdul Shobande, 2022. "Does FDI Promote the Resource Curse in Nigeria?," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Chhotray, Vasudha & Adhikari, Anindita & Bahuguna, Vidushi, 2020. "The political prioritization of welfare in India: Comparing the public distribution system in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).

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