Extractive Economies and Conflicts in the Global South: Multi-Regional Perspectives on Rentier Politics

Abstract

The majority of developing countries in the Global South are evidently rich in natural resources, but paradoxically blighted by excruciating poverty and conflicts. This paradox of deprivation and war in the midst of plenteous resources has been the subject of great debate in international political economy in contemporary history. This book contributes to the debate by examining the underlying structures, actors and contexts of rentier politics and how they often produce and aggravate conflicts in the various extractive economies and regions of the Global South. The book critically explores the theories of rentier economies and natural resource conflicts, as well as the practical ramifications of rentier politics in the Global South with all their resonance for political economy and security in the Global North. Contents Extractive economies and conflicts in the global South: re-engaging rentier theory and politics, Kenneth Omeje; Rentier politics, extractive economies and conflict in the global South: emerging ramifications and theoretical exploration, Usman A. Tar; Anatomy of an oil insurgency: violence and militants in the Niger delta, Nigeria, Michael Watts; Nationalization versus indigenization of the rentier space: oil and conflicts in Nigeria, Ukoha Ukiwo; Greed or grievance? Diamonds, rentseeking and the civil war in Sierra Leone (1991–2002), John M. Kabia; Politics and oil in Sudan, Peter Woodward; Sao Tome and Principe: the troubles of oil in an aid-dependent micro-state, Gerhard Seibert; Rentier politics and low intensity conflicts in the DRC: the case of Kasai and Katange provinces, Germain Tshibambe Ngoie and Kenneth Omeje; Thugs' paradise, agencies' guinea pig and the natural resource intrigue: the civil war in Liberia, T. Debey Sayndee; Resource exploitation, repression and resistance in the Sahara-Sahel: the rise of the rentier state in Algeria, Chad and Niger, Jeremy Keenan; Oil sovereignties in the Mexican Gulf and Nigerian Niger delta, Anna Zalik; Extractive resources and the rentier space: a South American perspective, Julia Buxton; Rentier states and war-making: the United Arab Emirates and Iraq in comparative perspective, Rolf Schwarz; Rethinking the rentier syndrome: oil and resource conflict in the Persian Gulf, Dauda Abubakar; Index.

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