Vogt, MA; (2016) Escaping the Resource Curse: How Power-sharing Prevents Ethnic Conflict over Resource Wealth in Africa. In: Falola, T and Abidogun, J, (eds.) Issues in African Political Economies. Carolina Academic Press: Durham, NC, USA.

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Abstract

This paper argues that ethnic power sharing is crucial for the political management of resource wealth in Africa. As ethnic conflicts are often the product of a struggle between different ethnic groups over access to the state and its material benefits, power sharing should decrease the conflict risk in resource-rich countries. The paper tests this argument in a quantitative analysis of the theoretically important region of West Africa, based on a novel dataset on natural resource production. The results show that ethnic power sharing indeed significantly decreases the risk of ethnic conflict onset. Moreover, it mediates the conflict-fueling effect of resource production; that is only where relevant ethnic groups are excluded does resource wealth lead to conflict. However, the analysis also indicates that for ethnic power sharing to be effective it needs to include all relevant ethnic groups in a country.

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