Global and Regional Mechanisms for Governing the Resource Curse in Africa
Publisher: Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies
Author(s): Gilbert M. Khadiagala
Date: 2015
Topics: Extractive Resources, Governance
International norms around natural resource governance have proliferated in the face of civil wars and feeble state institutions in Africa. These norms have been captured in institutions such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), and the African Mining Vision (AMV). But have these institutions reversed the purported resource curse? This article seeks answers to this key question by challenging the assumptions around the prevailing international regimes of restraint which have privileged transparency and accountability at the expense of participation. Through an analysis of the experiences of these institutions, I suggest that there should be more focus on alternative regimes of responsibility in which natural resource-rich countries combine the process of building institutions of participation with those of transparency and accountability.