Toward a Petro-Developmental State? Merits and demerits of the Chadian rentier state.

Abstract

The discovery of oil in Chad in the 1960s and its subsequent exploitation triggered the idea by international institutions that oil extraction would lead to sustainable development. Furthermore, Chad in tackling the resource curse would use rents to solve social, economic and security challenges on its territory. I argue that the state is the main actor in the resource curse, and its power derives rents from natural resources extraction. The curse emerges under local or international institutional pressures even if political outcomes are contextual and based on local norms. Drawing on theories of rentier state and developmental state, this paper seeks to critically explore local and international pressures that pull the state towards rentier behaviors resulting in poor local development outcomes.