Oil rents and political breakdown in patrimonial states

Algeria in comparative perspective

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3979683
AutoresMiriam R Lowi (autor correspondente)
Ano2004
Volume9
Fascículo3
Páginas83-102
Data de publicação2004-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThe Journal of North African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1362-9387 • E-ISSN: 1743-9345
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1362938042000325822
OpenAlexW1964393996
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas8

Studies of oil-exporting states within the comparative political economy of development literature maintain that oil structures political, as well as economic, outcomes. Hence, political ‘breakdown’, when it occurs, is largely a function of oil. Through an in-depth consideration of the case of Algeria, this article seeks to nuance sectoral analyses that favour structural explanations. It offers two suggestions: first, that in authoritarian states with deeply divided societies, the seeds of breakdown tend to precede oil-based development and derive, as in non-oil-exporting states, from problems related to the construction of the nation; and second, that the decisions of political leaders, whether they relate to nation-building or to utilising oil rents, are at least as important as structural variables in explaining outcomes. This article showcases an argument that is being extended to other oil-exporting states that have experienced breakdown

Argument (complex analysis · Authoritarianism · Democracy · Economic rent · Economic system · Economics · Economy · Market economy · Perspective (graphical · Petroleum industry · Political economy · Political science · Politics · International Development and Aid · Law · Natural Resources and Economic Development