Are Resources a Curse? Rentierism and Energy Policy in Post-Soviet States

Energy as a Curse The analysis of rentierism in Post-soviet states, which this book presents, underscores the need for further research as rentier state concepts have mainly been applied to “older” rentier states like African, Latin American and Arab countries. An important contribution to a topical discussion. During the last 30 years, many resource-rich countries have experienced economic and political stagnation (“resource curse”). They have developed deficient political systems in which the process of modern state formation is being undercut (“rentier state”) as well as economic structures in which sectors that provide strong incentives for the accumulation of physical and human capital are under-represented (“Dutch disease”). This is very much the same in many of the post-Soviet states with high resource incomes since the mid 1990s. These incomes present opportunities for reducing poverty and promoting economic growth. But instead of taking advantage of these opportunities many of them present authoritarian regimes with high levels of corruption, low political freedom and rent-seeking elites. The book gives a detailed analysis of rentierism in Post-soviet states.