Social Science Job Candidate
Baxter B125
On the Geography of Assets and Citizens: How Proximity to Oil Production Shapes Political Order
Graeme Blair,
Ph.D. Candidate,
Department of Politics,
Princeton University,
Do natural resources like oil and diamonds cause civil wars? If so, why? In many developing countries, profits from natural resources dwarf the national budget. Yet instead of financing a path to prosperity, these resources are associated by journalists and policymakers with slow economic growth, illiberal governments, and violent conflict. Scholars are less certain; for example, two books published by top academic presses recently were titled The Oil Curse and Oil Is Not a Curse. In this book project, I focus on the effects of oil and natural gas on conflict. Despite a decade of theoretical and empirical investigation, it remains unclear why and even whether the two are causally related.
For more information, please contact Sabrina De Jaegher by phone at Ext. 4228 or by email at [email protected].
Event Series
Social Science Job Candidate