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Oil Management and the Resource Curse in Ghana: the role of civil society

Rundquist, Henrik LU (2014) STVK12 20132
Department of Political Science
Abstract (Swedish)
The so-called ‘Resource curse’ has manifested in several resource rich countries in the African continent. When Ghana found oil in 2007, the finding was consequently accompanied by high hopes of economic growth and increased social welfare (blessing), but also fear that they oil would increase corruption and political patronage (curse). The resource curse literature identifies extensive checks and balances on the governing elite as necessary for overcoming the resource curse, and an active civil society is assumed to play an important part in this. Through qualitative interviews with civil society actors, this thesis aims to understand the role played by civil society in the management of Ghana’s oil resources. The thesis concludes that... (More)
The so-called ‘Resource curse’ has manifested in several resource rich countries in the African continent. When Ghana found oil in 2007, the finding was consequently accompanied by high hopes of economic growth and increased social welfare (blessing), but also fear that they oil would increase corruption and political patronage (curse). The resource curse literature identifies extensive checks and balances on the governing elite as necessary for overcoming the resource curse, and an active civil society is assumed to play an important part in this. Through qualitative interviews with civil society actors, this thesis aims to understand the role played by civil society in the management of Ghana’s oil resources. The thesis concludes that while democracy in Ghana cannot ensure that the country escapes the resource curse, it has allowed the emergence of a vibrant civil society with real political space and legitimacy. Oil governance in the country however, lacks important oversight structures, partly due to gaps in the legislative framework, and partly due to executive dominance in Ghana’s political life. This complicates civil society’s role to monitor oil sector activity, and consequently to play the important role identified by the literature: to hold their leaders accountable. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rundquist, Henrik LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK12 20132
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Resource curse, civil society, democracy, accountability, institutional quality, Ghana
language
English
id
4228531
date added to LUP
2014-01-30 13:02:55
date last changed
2014-01-30 13:02:55
@misc{4228531,
  abstract     = {{The so-called ‘Resource curse’ has manifested in several resource rich countries in the African continent. When Ghana found oil in 2007, the finding was consequently accompanied by high hopes of economic growth and increased social welfare (blessing), but also fear that they oil would increase corruption and political patronage (curse). The resource curse literature identifies extensive checks and balances on the governing elite as necessary for overcoming the resource curse, and an active civil society is assumed to play an important part in this. Through qualitative interviews with civil society actors, this thesis aims to understand the role played by civil society in the management of Ghana’s oil resources. The thesis concludes that while democracy in Ghana cannot ensure that the country escapes the resource curse, it has allowed the emergence of a vibrant civil society with real political space and legitimacy. Oil governance in the country however, lacks important oversight structures, partly due to gaps in the legislative framework, and partly due to executive dominance in Ghana’s political life. This complicates civil society’s role to monitor oil sector activity, and consequently to play the important role identified by the literature: to hold their leaders accountable.}},
  author       = {{Rundquist, Henrik}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Oil Management and the Resource Curse in Ghana: the role of civil society}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}