The Petro-Developmental State in Africa

Making Oil Work in Angola, Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea

Jesse Ovadia

A Hurst Publication

Focuses on two of the most important countries in Africa - including the most populous country (Nigeria) and the fastest growing country (Angola). It is also about those countries' places in the global political economy and their relationships with the US, China, Europe, and international capital
Addresses the new reality of African political economy in which the continent is understood as a place of economic potential, not of misery and suffering
Explores and blends together topical issues, such as the politics of oil in Africa/scramble for African resources, African development, state-led development, the resource curse, and China in Africa

The Petro-Developmental State in Africa

Making Oil Work in Angola, Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea

Jesse Ovadia

A Hurst Publication

Description

Focusing on local content in the oil and oil service sectors and the changing accumulation strategies of the domestic elite, this book questions what kinds of development are possible through natural resource extraction and argues that a new form of developmental state-the 'petro- developmental state'-may now be emerging in the Gulf of Guinea, allowing states to capitalize on a resource that has traditionally been thought of as a 'curse'. In a new moment for the extraction of oil created by a changed domestic context in Angola and Nigeria and changed geopolitical realities, new possibilities exist for state-led economic and social development and capitalist transformation.

Ovadia contends that ultimately whether development or underdevelopment results from the transformation depends not only on historical conditions, but also on power relations and struggles at the level of civil society. Local content is perhaps the single most important innovation in energy policy in the Global South in recent decades. Expanding debates about state- led development and the developmental state, the concept of a petro-developmental state offers an explanation for how some of the most strategically significant countries in Africa can achieve meaningful economic and social progress.

The Petro-Developmental State in Africa

Making Oil Work in Angola, Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea

Jesse Ovadia

A Hurst Publication

1. Introduction: The Emergence of the Petro-Developmental State

2. What Is Local Content, Where Did It Come From and How Can It Succeed?

3. The Promise and Pitfalls of Development Through Local Content

4. Elite accumulation and Potential Class Transformation in Angola and Nigeria

5. How Companies Are Implementing Local Content in Angola and Nigeria

6. Civil Society, Social Movements and Local Content in Host Communities

7. Conclusion: What Future for Petro-Development?