Responding to the Challenge of Fragility and Security in West Africa

Maconachie, Roy; Srinivasan, Radhika; Menzies, Nicholas

Responding to the Challenge of Fragility and Security in West Africa

Autores

Maconachie, Roy

Srinivasan, Radhika

Menzies, Nicholas

Editor

World Bank, Washington, DC

Descripción

The inability to unlock natural resource wealth for the benefit of developing countries’ local populations, a phenomenon popularly known as the ‘resource curse’ or the ‘paradox of plenty’, has spawned extensive debate among researchers and policy makers in recent years. There is now a well-established body of literature exploring the links between natural resources and conflict, with some sources estimating that over the past 60 years, 40 percent of civil wars have been associated with natural resources. Following this introduction, Section two provides an overview of interstate tensions in West Africa in order to improve understanding of the drivers of fragility that trigger conflict between countries around extractive industry investment. Here, the discussion is grounded in examples in which interstate tensions have been apparent, including the case of the Mano River Union, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, a region with a history of conflict, and where the exploitation of commercial deposits of high-value resources may continue to have a potentially destabilizing effect. Section three focuses on the decentralization of natural resource revenues, a process that proponents believe can help manage grievances and defuse intrastate tension in areas directly affected by resource extraction, but one that is also not without challenges. Drawing upon the case of Ghana’s Mineral Development Fund, the section explores the potential for conflict (and conflict triggers) to arise when the redistribution of extractive industry revenues to subnational regions takes place. In doing so, it becomes apparent that the capture and misuse of revenues from the fund is as much a political issue as it is a policy or technical one. This sets the stage for section four, which focuses in greater detail on extractive industry-related conflict within catchment communities, and how contestation is most often a result of unequal power relationships. Section five, the conclusion, summarizes and reflects upon some of the challenges and struggles over resource management associated with West Africa’s recent resource boom, and draws out some of the cross-cutting themes. Here, suitable entry points for future lines of inquiry and engagement are identified.

Palabras clave

EMPLOYMENT, FISH, REVENUE SHARING, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ACCOUNTING, DEPOSITS, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, FOREIGN INVESTORS, INTEREST, LAWS, EXPECTATIONS, PRIVATIZATION, GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROPERTY RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS, GOVERNMENT REVENUES, RESPONSIBILITY, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, POLITICAL ECONOMIES, STRATEGIES, TIMBER, ETHNIC GROUPS, SERVICES, RIVER BASINS, DISCRIMINATION, POLITICAL ECONOMY, REVENUES, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, FISCAL POLICY, ECONOMIC PROBLEMS, INCENTIVES, SOCIOECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION, PROJECTS, NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, AUTHORITIES, CORRUPTION, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, FISCAL FEDERALISM, NATIONAL LEVEL, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, AUTHORITARIANISM, ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, PRESENT VALUE, SOCIAL CONFLICT, STATES, EXPLOITATION, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, OIL, WELFARE EFFECTS, EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE, AUTHORITY, PRODUCTIVITY, OPTIONS, EXTERNALITIES, MIGRATION, TRANSFERS, CENTRALIZATION, BARRIERS TO ENTRY, MARKETS, ROYALTY, LOCAL GOVERNMENT, STATE AUTHORITIES, LEGISLATION, POLLUTION, CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS, REGULATORY MECHANISMS, LABOR, NATURAL RESOURCES, TRUST FUNDS, METALS, COUNCILS, LEGAL FRAMEWORK, FINANCE, EFFICIENCY, FISHING, INFRASTRUCTURE, TAXES, LAND USE, ENTITLEMENTS, EFFECTIVE USE, BANKS, RESOURCES, DEVOLUTION, FISCAL, LOCAL TAXES, ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, VALUES, VALUE, POLICY MAKERS, BANK, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, CREDIT, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, DEFORESTATION, CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, MINES, GOVERNMENT REVENUE, EXPENDITURES, ENVIRONMENTS, PROPERTY, DECISION-MAKING, DECISION MAKING, TAX RATES, TRANSACTION COSTS, ENVIRONMENT, SOIL DEGRADATION, PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, STREAMS, CITIZENS, REGULATORY REGIMES, ADMINISTRATION, GOVERNANCE, FISHERIES, REGIONAL INTEGRATION, TRADE, GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION, STATE, LAND, REGIONS, LOCAL COUNCILS, RISK, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, TAX SYSTEM, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION, PUBLIC FINANCES, SUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, ECOLOGY, WATER POLLUTION, DECENTRALIZATION, GOVERNMENT STRUCTURES, REVENUE, LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURES, RESOURCE CURSE, INSURGENCY, FISCAL REVENUE, PROFITS, ENVIRONMENTAL, GOVERNMENTS, POLITICAL INSTABILITY, PRICES, NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES, PIT, ECONOMIES, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE