POL 336 - Natural Resource Politics

This course examines the political and economic consequences of natural resource wealth. We will use a mixture of theoretical overviews, historical analysis, and contemporary case studies to examine key questions such as: What is the resource curse and how can countries escape it? How do natural resources shape political institutions or regime type? What is the relationship between natural resources and conflict? How do natural resources shape the international political economy and interstate relations? How does natural resource management affect Indigenous rights and land use policies? We will first build a foundation for navigating these questions by scrutinizing the development paradigms that have prevailed in the global South since the Second World War. In addition to examining domestic consequences of natural resources, we will also devote considerable time to matters of international dependence and interdependence. Finally, we will address how ecological issues such as climate change intersect with economic and political ones and the complex issues of space exploration and Arctic drilling. The course will make extensive use of case studies in order to develop a contextualized understanding of how resource politics manifests on the ground

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group II
Prerequisite(s): POL 220, POL 240, POL 260, or POL 326
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Not offered: 2023-24
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Evaluate data and/or sources.
Analyze institutions, formations, languages, structures, or processes, whether social, political, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual or other.
Think in sophisticated ways about causation, social and/or historical change, human cognition, or the relationship between individuals and society, or engage with social, political, religious or economic theory in other areas.