Oil and Development in Ghana Beyond the Resource Curse

This book gives a comprehensive overview of Ghana’s hydrocarbon economy using actor network and assemblage theories to contest the methodological nationalism of mainstream accounts of the resource curse in resource-rich countries. Drawing upon recent field research focused on Ghana’s oil and gas sector and utilizing the theoretical framework of actor network theory, the authors contend that there is an assemblage of political, economic, social and environmental networks, processes, actions, actors, and structures of power that coalesce to determine the extent to which the country’s hydrocarbon resources could be regarded as a "curse" or "blessing." This framing facilitates a better understanding of the variety (and duality) of local and global forces and power structures at play in Ghana’s growing hydrocarbon industry. Giving a nuanced and multi-perspectival analysis of the factors that underlie oil-engendered development in Ghana, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of African political economy, development and the politics of resource extraction.

1. The Paradox of Development Troubles in Resource-Endowed Countries 2. The Political Assemblage: Institutions, Structures, Networks, and Actors 3. "Dutch Disease" and the Economic Assemblage 4. Society and the Resource Curse: A Relational Perspective 5. The "Lost Child": A Possible Environmental Curse? 6. The Prospects and Pitfalls of Oil-Engendered Development: A Conclusion

Nathan Andrews is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Global and International Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada. Pius Siakwah is a Research Fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.