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Transparency in Resource Governance: The Pitfalls and Potential of “New Oil” in Sub-Saharan Africa

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  • James Van Alstine

    (James Van Alstine is a lecturer in environmental policy at the University of Leeds.)

Abstract

An international agenda has evolved over the past decade to establish hard and soft rules to govern the impacts of the extractive industries. The international community and some resource-rich states have increasingly embraced norms such as transparency in resource governance. This paper explores how multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) campaign have sought to institutionalize transparency in resource governance. By exploring how, why, and to what effect transparency in resource governance has taken hold in a new petro-economy such as Ghana, I highlight two key findings: the interaction between voluntary and mandatory governance mechanisms and rescaling of authority, and the multi-scalar dimensions of resource governance and subsequent lack of focus on sub-national issues. In concluding, I question the transformative potential of transparency in resource governance, which has significant global implications as the demand for energy and non-energy minerals continues to rise. © 2014 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • James Van Alstine, 2014. "Transparency in Resource Governance: The Pitfalls and Potential of “New Oil” in Sub-Saharan Africa," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 14(1), pages 20-39, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:14:y:2014:i:1:p:20-39
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Walter, Götz & Van de Graaf, Thijs & Andrews, Nathan, 2016. "Energy Governance, Transnational Rules, and the Resource Curse: Exploring the Effectiveness of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 179-192.
    2. Brunnschweiler, Christa & Edjekumhene, Ishmael & Lujala, Päivi, 2021. "Does information matter? Transparency and demand for accountability in Ghana's natural resource revenue management," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    3. Adams, Dawda & Ullah, Subhan & Akhtar, Pervaiz & Adams, Kweku & Saidi, Samir, 2019. "The role of country-level institutional factors in escaping the natural resource curse: Insights from Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 433-440.
    4. Heloïse Berkowitz & Marcelo Bucheli & Hervé Dumez, 2017. "Collectively Designing CSR Through Meta-Organizations: A Case Study of the Oil and Gas Industry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(4), pages 753-769, July.
    5. Johnson, McKenzie F., 2019. "Strong (green) institutions in weak states: Environmental governance and human (in)security in the Global South," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 433-445.
    6. Van Alstine, James & Manyindo, Jacob & Smith, Laura & Dixon, Jami & AmanigaRuhanga, Ivan, 2014. "Resource governance dynamics: The challenge of ‘new oil’ in Uganda," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 48-58.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    resource governance; Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative; oil; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N57 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Africa; Oceania
    • Q50 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - General

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