Scholars ever more agree that economic diversification is becoming a vital strategy to ensure future stability in fossil fuel-export dependent states. This is the reason why, in recent years,...Show moreScholars ever more agree that economic diversification is becoming a vital strategy to ensure future stability in fossil fuel-export dependent states. This is the reason why, in recent years, grandiose development plans and modest efforts to achieve economic diversification have been initiated by some MENA states, particularly by those in the GCC. In Algeria, neither plans nor serious efforts are undertaken by the country’s ruling elites towards achieving this goal. Traditional rentier state literature cannot explain these visible differences in approaches between rentier states. Therefore, by studying contemporary Algerian history, this paper argues that the unwillingness of Algerian elites to diversify the Algerian economy is a result of an interplay between the nature of domestic institutions, international interference and oil. This case-specific approach enables a more accurate explanation for Algeria’s persistent political economic development. Moreover, by connecting rentier state theory with insights from postcolonial studies, and statist and critical political economy, this paper also appeals to the growing demand for an internationalised conception of the rentier state.Show less
This research analyzes the socioeconomic impact of the implementation of a gas plant in progress in the Nzema region, a territory located in the South-Western Ghana which has around 250,000...Show moreThis research analyzes the socioeconomic impact of the implementation of a gas plant in progress in the Nzema region, a territory located in the South-Western Ghana which has around 250,000 inhabitants. In recent years the oil and gas found in the area have been a significant event in this locality consisting of the State acquisition of part of district territories in the area to launch some energy projects which promises to be revolutionary for the population. Work on the construction of the gas plant has already started in 2011 by means of the Ghana National Gas Company and of the Sinopec, a Chinese company hired by the Ghanaian government. To date, some of the local people in the area have been struggling with the lack of or insufficient compensation for their crops and they are still looking for alternative means of livelihood. Most are demanding corporate social responsibility from the gas companies or at least the opportunity to contribute in a more significant way in the implementation of the project since the main job opportunity in the gas plant is to work as unskilled workers. Directly or indirectly all of the people from surrounding area are strongly affected by the gas plant, and their ways of looking at the project are many and varied.Show less
