Oil as the ‘curse’ of conflict in Africa

Peering through the smoke and mirrors

Bibliographic Data

ID11904437
AuthorsCyril Obi (0000-0002-8440-4269, Nordic Africa Institute, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume37
Issue126
Publication date2010-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReview of African Political Economy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-6244 • E-ISSN: 1740-1720
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03056244.2010.530947
OpenAlexW2110579361
LanguageEN
Citations received28
References cited35

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

Class conflict · Curse · Framing (construction · Hegemony · Natural resource · Nexus (standard · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Resource curse · Sociology · Law · Mining and Resource Management · Natural Resources and Economic Development · Political Conflict and Governance

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