The Natural Resource Curse : How Wealth Can Make You Poor

The two most important resources in this region are oil and water. The huge oil “deposits there and in the neighboring countries around the Persian Gulf (the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain) established these countries as some of the richest in the world” (Document F). Nevertheless, the countries who do not have as much access to oil are weak economically. Oil is the biggest export in the Middle East, and in a way, the amount of oil a country has determines how wealthy that country will be. Another component of oil is that countries and ethnic groups are disputing for the control of prices of this economic resource. It has gone to the far extent of foreign countries attempting to control the oil price and also the use of weapons for this (Document E). In addition, it is impossible for each country to have equal access to water due to the unbalanced distribution of these essential resources. As a result of this, these countries are fighting for as much control of water sources they can get. Radically, there are many countries in the Middle East that are striving to obtain as many natural resources to strengthen their economy and lifestyle, and it seems most obvious that the scarcity of these resources is a significant problem in the region

Some resources are so valuable and are becoming so rare that countries will fight over them. Examples of these resources include gas, oil and even water. Since these resources are pretty much immobile and can’t be moved it means that countries have to take complete control of the area in which these resources are located. If this area

Being poor is hazardous to one's health. As seen in class, the conditions that are found in poor neighborhoods cause the poor to die earlier and have much less healthy lives than their more wealthy counterparts in better neighborhoods and the suburbs. The poor who are mostly of color are segregated by income into these areas where poverty, toxic waste, pollution and crime make their lives miserable indeed.

“Liberian Civil war fought in 1989-1996, is among the most deadly and destructive war in the history that lasted for more than 7 years and killed almost 3 hundred thousand people. This war was the worst ever in the history of Africa because it caused the infrastructural and property damage in the country. The war also displaced more than 1 million people in refugee camps in neighboring countries. This war led to a complete breakdown of law and order in the country. There was not any direct cause that led to this war but several reasons contributed in the creation of this destructive event. Hunger for power, greed and opportunities to control and to get more out of Liberia’s natural resources were the main reasons behind this conflict. As D. Elwood Dunn quoted “We begin with the assumption that the conflict arose from the tugs and pulls of different identities the differential distribution of

Similar to the societal explanation, the cognitive explanation for the effects of the resource curse suggests that the wealth from resource abundance causes countries to be riskier with their money. Instead of investing in multiple sectors and foreign bonds, African countries tend to indulge in the wealth and focus solely upon it with no consideration of sustainability or possible busts. Since policymakers become shortsighted, they do not realize that that their economy is falling apart until it is too late.

“The most widely accepted relationship between economic factors and civil war is that high-income nations are less likely to experience civil wars than low-income nations.” (Dixon 714). The disagreements over how to spend money and tax imported goods, and how territories should be distributed, cause this one nation to fight against each other.

Natural resources can be found all over America from dirt to diamond all the resources found help build our nation. “The great California gold rush began on January 24, 1848, when James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget in the American River.”(California

The article by Thomas Homer-Dixon discusses how scarcity of renewable resources, in combination with other social factors, can cause violent clashes. Scarcity alone does not cause violence, it requires other factors such as inequality, migration, and the functioning of social institutions. He states that in a society with shortage of renewable resource, the elites within a society keep the bulk of the resources for themselves. The cycle of scarcity and violence lead to further scarcity. He gives many examples of resources that when scarce lead to violence. However, there is not a clear solution provided that would solve this problem.

The study of Collier & Hoeffler of 1998 will not be subject of this paper, as only four proxies were examined, namely per capital income, the natural resource endowment, populations size and the extent of ethno-linguistic fractionalisation. And also due to the fact, that is was mostly based on the economic model of a rational cost-benefit analysis: A rebellion will be conducted if the assumed benefit is greater than the cost of it (Collier& Hoeffler, 1998). This assumption is quite inaccurate, as it will be argued in the following, that the decision and motivation to engage in an armed conflict is not necessarily a rational one. Also, the study of 2007, which formulated the

History has explained the fact that at one point in time, the earth's natural resources had no limit. Raw materials were plenty, because of the fact that there were plenty of natural resources to go around. Natural resources can be identified as the raw materials that comes from the earth and are useful. Natural resources can never be made by humans. Athough, these raw materials can be modified, or altered to benefit corporations and businesses. For example, natural resources are fossil fuels like petroleum, natural gas, and coal. Minerals like diamonds, gold, and copper are natural resources that come from the earth. Other resources are known as natural vegetation, like forests and timber. Animals are our earth's natural resources as well, like salmon, deer, whales, chickens, etc. The air we breathe, and the wind are all also natural resources. Water, like lakes, rivers and

The ambition of the often autocratic leaders to acquire more land, which may bring them access to oil, water or arable land. The problem according to Sørli et. al is “scarcity” and “abundance” (147). Water is scarce, and oil is in abundance, but the access to both is limited. According to our text, the new “water wars” have emerged as a major source of conflict, in addition to the “oil wars” (Anderson et. al, 226). Water is scarce in the Middle East, and will continue to dwindle as the population rises. Not every country has the same access to the water sources, which will naturally cause problems. For example, Israel has control of the Golan, and Egypt of the Nile, and Kuwait of the Persian Gulf. Oil is in abundance, but only to a limited number of countries in the Middle East causing great economic disparity between those who have, and those who do not. Kuwait, having access to the Persian Gulf, produces a large supply of oil to international players. Given its high value internationally, and its worth, oil is much sought after.

Climate change is becoming a focal point for security and conflict research. Research suggests that violent conflict is affected by climate change and this could become increasingly worse in the future. Barnett, J., Adger, W. (2007) suggest that climate change undermines human security by reducing the access to natural resources that sustain people’s way of life. Climate change also has the capacity to undermine states as well by cutting off the states ability to provide opportunities and services that help maintain life and which help to maintain and build peace in daily life. With access to natural resources diminishing and the state not being able to provide opportunities and services that help maintain life and human security this

The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier discusses why the poorest countries are failing and then offers some insights and solutions to the problem. He says the four major problems in developing nations are: conflict, natural resources, bad neighbors, and bad governments. The conflicts are usually civil wars which have huge costs and the situation just becomes worse the longer the conflicts drag on. Collier states that countries rich in natural resources are often worse off than countries that are not, he attributes this problem to several different factors. One of the factors is that the resources open the possibility for conflict over the resources. Another factor is that if a country strictly focuses it’s on a specific natural resource then the other resources and industries might get forgotten and lose value. Being landlocked with bad neighbors can also be a large problem because it makes it almost impossible to be a part of world trade, so these landlocked countries have to depend on their neighbors for most of the trade and materials. A bad government can also be very destructive to a country’s economy, if they create unreasonable and restrictive policies. The smaller countries are also at a disadvantage because it is hard for them to get any investors, because the investors would much rather invest in well-known countries like India or China. After Collier stated all the problems he also offered up some possible solutions. He believed that aid agencies should concentrate

Lack of development in countries in the so-called `Third World' has many political and economical reasons. Historians explain the inadequacy of developing countries with the early imperialism and the resulting colonization of the South. Exploitation of mineral resources, deforestation, slavery, and the adaptation of foreign policies shaped the picture of today's suffering and struggling civilizations and natural rich continents. The omission of concessions and equal negotiations between dependency and supremacy give rise to the contrast of enormous resources and immense poverty in developing countries is. In the last years the outcry of justice and the emancipation of the Third World became louder throughout developing and industrialized

Why Nations Fail takes an in depth look into why some countries flourish and become rich powerful nations while other countries are left in or reduced to poverty. Throughout this book review I will discuss major arguments and theories used by the authors and how they directly impact international development, keeping in mind that nations are only as strong as their political and economical systems.