Ekim Arbatli

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Exam fields:
Comparative Politics, International Relations

Dissertation title:
“Oil and (non)democratic politics: Explaining resource nationalism in Russia and Venezuela”

Dissertation summary:
My dissertation focuses on the institutional dynamics of natural resource policy and analyzes the relationship between resource nationalism and political regime type. First, I argue that hybrid regimes exercise the highest level of resource nationalism in their oil sector compared to democratic and authoritarian regimes. This is explained by an elite incentive structure with two intervening variables: the existence of electoral pressures and the institutional constraints placed on the executive branch. Secondly, I look at different resource nationalism strategies under hybrid regimes, using Russia and Venezuela as case studies. I argue that the level of elite conflict in the country determines the strategy of resource nationalism. High levels of elite competition, as in Venezuela, create a winner-take-all system. The competition within the elites means the eventual elimination of opposing groups. For the winner under this system, state ownership and nationalization is the most viable option for controlling resource rents. On the other hand, when elite competition is low as in Russia, we should expect to see cooperation in rent sharing among the ruling elite and the capture of resource assets by the privileged groups. In this case, a regulatory control over resources is preferred over nationalization.