Oil, Democracy, and Development in Africa - Heilbrunn, John R.

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Résumé :
Oil, Democracy, and Development in Africa presents an optimistic analysis of the continent's oil-producing states. With attention to the complex histories, the interactions of key industry actors and policy makers, and the goals of diverse groups in society, this contribution fills a gap in the literature on resource-abundant countries. John R. Heilbrunn presents a positive assessment of circumstances in contemporary African oil exporters. The book demonstrates that even those leaders who are among the least accountable use oil revenues to improve their citizens' living standards, if only a little bit. As a consequence, African oil producers are growing economically and their people are living under increasingly democratic polities. Heilbrunn thus calls for a long-overdue reassessment of the impact of hydrocarbons on developing economies....

Biographie:
John R. Heilbrunn is Associate Professor in the Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies at the Colorado School of Mines. He is also a Research Fellow (Chercheur associ?) at Les Afriques dans le Monde, a research unit at Sciences Po Bordeaux. Prior to his faculty appointment, Heilbrunn worked as a Senior Public Sector Reform Specialist at the World Bank. At the World Bank, Heilbrunn was the anti-corruption thematic group coordinator, responsible for advising country teams across the organization on integrating the then new initiative on governance and anti-corruption. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the US government. His many publications include articles on democratization in Africa, business associations, corruption in the oil industry, and institutional efforts to fight corruption.

Sommaire:
1. Oil, democracy, and development in Africa; 2. Historic paths: colonialism and its legacies; 3. Oil companies: corporate strategies and profits; 4. Economic growth and phases of production; 5. Resource revenues, corruption, and contracts; 6. Machine politics, oil, and democracy; 7. Conclusion: oil, democracy, and development in Africa.