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Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 39, No. 8, 943-968 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0010414006288724
© 2006 SAGE Publications

Does Lootable Wealth Breed Disorder?

A Political Economy of Extraction Framework

Richard Snyder

Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

This article proposes a political economy of extraction framework that explains political order and state collapse as alternative outcomes in the face of lootable wealth. Different types of institutions of extraction can be built on lootable resources—with divergent effects on political stability. If rulers are able to forge institutions of extraction that give them control of revenues generated by lootable resources, then these resources can contribute to political order by providing the income with which to govern. Conversely, the breakdown or absence of such institutions increases the risk of civil war by making it easier for rebels to organize. The framework is used to explain two puzzling cases that experienced sharply contrasting political trajectories in the face of lootable resources: Sierra Leone and Burma. A focus on institutions of extraction provides a stronger understanding of the wide range of political outcomes—from chaos, to dictatorship, to democracy—in resource-rich countries.

Key Words: lootable wealth • civil war • natural resources • economic institutions


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[Abstract] [PDF]