Resource Control and Political Development in Africa: The Cases of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Botswana

Ironically, it appears that the countries with the greatest resource wealth have often had the hardest time achieving political and economic stability. Is there a direct correlation between the way in which natural resources are controlled within a country and its democratic process? How do other factors come into play, such as MNC involvement or the level of natural resource revenue dependency? This study compares and contrasts two resource-rich countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Botswana between 1885 and 2012. To address the problem under investigation, three hypotheses have been formulated: 1) the higher the level of involvement of multinational corporations within a country, the less likely that country will successfully transition to democracy; 2) the higher the level of dependency a country has on revenue from natural resources, the less likely that country’s leadership will manage those resources responsibly; and 3) the way in which resources are managed is likely to affect a country’s transition to democracy. This study finds that high levels of MNC involvement and resource dependence have a variable effect on democratization but should always be observed and questioned. Only the third hypothesis was confirmed: resource management is a critical factor affecting democratic outcomes.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

International and Comparative Politics

Grantor dc:publisher

Wright State University

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Ime, Oweka

Contributors dc:contributor

• Green, December

• African Studies
• Comparative
• International Relations
• Natural Resource Management
• Political Science
• Regional Studies
• Social Research
• Sub Saharan Africa Studies
• Environmental Management
• Resource control
• resource management
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Botswana
• democracy in Africa
• MNCs
• transitions to democracy
• political development

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1364748648

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:wright1364748648