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Oil as the ‘curse’ of conflict in Africa: peering through the smoke and mirrors

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  • Cyril Obi

Abstract

This article interrogates the framing of the resource curse as a central causal mechanism in the resource abundance--conflict nexus in Africa. It is argued that explaining such conflicts on the basis of the ways natural resources either act as an incentive/motive for rebel groups, or erode and weaken states, does not adequately capture the complex histories, dimensions and transnational linkages to civil conflict in Africa. The article lays bare the attempts by a hegemonic discourse to obfuscate the reality of the fundamental and transnational underpinnings of the resource--conflict nexus. It is argued that the resource curse perspective cannot fully explain conflict in African oil states, and rather, a case is made for an alternative model based on radical political economy which lays bare the class relations, contradictions and conflicts rooted in the subordination of the continent and its resources to transnational processes and elites embedded in globalised capitalist relations.

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  • Cyril Obi, 2010. "Oil as the ‘curse’ of conflict in Africa: peering through the smoke and mirrors," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(126), pages 483-495, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revape:v:37:y:2010:i:126:p:483-495
    DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2010.530947
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brunnschweiler, Christa N. & Bulte, Erwin H., 2008. "The resource curse revisited and revised: A tale of paradoxes and red herrings," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 248-264, May.
    2. Erling Røed Larsen, 2004. "Escaping the Resource Curse and the Dutch Disease? When and Why Norway Caught up with and Forged ahead of Its Neighbors," Discussion Papers 377, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    3. James Boyce & Léonce Ndikumana, 2008. "New Estimates of Capital Flight from Sub-Saharan African Countries: Linkages with External Borrowing and Policy Options," Working Papers wp166, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    4. Sarah Bracking, 2009. "Hiding Conflict over Industry Returns: A Stakeholder Analysis of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 9109, GDI, The University of Manchester.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bernard Owusu, 2018. "‘Doomed by the ‘Resource Curse?’ Fish and Oil Conflicts in the Western Gulf of Guinea, Ghana," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 61(1), pages 149-159, December.
    2. Ovadia, Jesse Salah, 2016. "Local content policies and petro-development in Sub-Saharan Africa: A comparative analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 20-30.
    3. Uzoechi NWAGBARA & Onyi Franklin NWAGBARA & Ucheoma NWAGBARA, 2014. "The Power Of Partnership:Building Sustainable Future Through Partnership In Post-Conflict Niger Delta Of Nigeria," Management Research and Practice, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 6(2), pages 53-69, June.

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