TY - JOUR

T1 - Natural resources and civil strife : a two-stage process.

AU - Auty, Richard M.

PY - 2004/3

Y1 - 2004/3

N2 - This article explains why resource-rich countries tend to spawn predatory political states that distort the economy and create four of Collier's conditions for civil strife, namely a growth collapse, low educational attainment, a large cohort of unemployed young males and high resource dependence. Yet, the article also shows that these conditions characterize the resource-rich countries as a group, and most have avoided civil strife. The second part of the study therefore identifies the specific properties of natural resources associated with conflict, namely socio-economic linkages, the ratio of commodity value to weight and relative location. However, this manifestation of the resource curse, like others, is not a deterministic phenomenon so that domestic and global policies can limit resource-driven conflict.

AB - This article explains why resource-rich countries tend to spawn predatory political states that distort the economy and create four of Collier's conditions for civil strife, namely a growth collapse, low educational attainment, a large cohort of unemployed young males and high resource dependence. Yet, the article also shows that these conditions characterize the resource-rich countries as a group, and most have avoided civil strife. The second part of the study therefore identifies the specific properties of natural resources associated with conflict, namely socio-economic linkages, the ratio of commodity value to weight and relative location. However, this manifestation of the resource curse, like others, is not a deterministic phenomenon so that domestic and global policies can limit resource-driven conflict.

U2 - 10.1080/14650040412331307822

DO - 10.1080/14650040412331307822

M3 - Journal article

VL - 9

SP - 29

EP - 49

JO - Geopolitics

JF - Geopolitics

SN - 1465-0045

IS - 1

ER -