THE RESOURCE CURSE
STATE-SOCIETY RELATIONS IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES

While both appear susceptible to the resource curse, how and why did Botswana escaped the negative effects of colonialism, while Angola did not?

The 15th century marked the beginning of colonial expansion. Spain and Portugal began their east and westward conquests to establishing colonies and seeking natural resources. For the next six centuries, European countries would continue this acquisition across the global south, east, and west. From eastern Europe, to Asia, to South America, Africa, and Australia, colonial superpowers would shift their territorial focus to these far off lands. And with it, patriarchal capitalism carried an air of “white man’s burden” that stood unprecedented. The Berlin conference of 1884 served as a heightened display of this androcentric culture that was spreading across the eastern hemisphere. Yet by the early 20th century, vast economic devastation plagued European powers post WWII. Many long standing colonial authorities crippled heavily in a post-war era, losing the capacity to manage the financial responsibility of off-shore territories. By the 1960s, many colonies claimed independence, including many in Africa. And while this time of liberation brought empowerment and peace, state-structures weakened by colonialism were left as prey to foreign economic elites. Many countries vulnerable to corruption, coercion, exploitation, and marginalization, were sought after with ferocity, and were replaced by kleptocracies, which had become more prevalent. Yet not all countries had succumbed the same fate. When comparing and contrasting the historical and political fates of countries like war-stricken Angola, versus that of its more harmonious and economically successful neighbor Botswana, understanding the ingredients to one’s insolvency versus the other’s prosperity has been long sought after question by many scholars.

This paper will (A) aim to compare and contrast the effects of colonialism, and the state structures that were then established post-independence. In addition, this paper will (B) address how countries with rich natural resources fell to clutches of the resource curse, while others did not. And finally, (C) this paper will express how “settler communities, lacking inheritance of inferiority, and independence of the Belgian Congo” (Lucero) had resulted in strong state structures, despite the prevalence of kleptocracies just next door. In this paper, we will follow the history of two very similar countries, Botswana and Angola, both possessing strong natural resources, yet differing greatly by way of corruption. The paper will aim to answer what factors contributed to one country’s success, and which factors contributed to another’s demise. 

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Considered an “oasis of peace and harmony,” Botswana is arguably one of Africa’s most successful countries. As Ornulf Gulbrandsen illustrates, Botswana is “admired for it continuous parliamentarian democracy, esteemed for the sustainable strength of its postcolonial state, and widely recognized for its tremendous economic growth” (Gulbrandsen 1). In postcolonial Africa, Botswana’s unique ability to successfully establish a symbiotic relationship between “western ideas and practices with indigenous structures of power” planted the important seeds that have now grown into a strong state structure. Indigenous ideals such as Kagiso, or “a strong popular perception of hierarchies of authority as essential to peace and order, were existentially critical to good health, prosperity, and welfare” (Gulbrandsen 4).  In Jean-Francois Bayart, Politics of the Belly, the argument towards vertical immersion of western practices and indigenous fundamentals are integral to state structure success. Bayart also describes a cultural fundamental in material wealth, where “a man of power who is able to amass and redistribute wealth becomes a man of honour” (Bayart 260-262). Wealth, in Bayart’s description of “African way of Politics,” was essential for one’s protection, support, and welfare (Bayart 261).  This cultural fundamental coupled with western capitalistic practices boded terribly for countries like Angola. Lenses (Doyal 8), or socio-political congruency, pushed against each other in Angola, where they did not in Botswana. Although rich in the natural resources of diamonds, copper, and nickel, Botswana’s greatest success was its ability to promote “fusion of elites” in a post-colonial world (Gulbrandsen 109). The most critical of this fusion was the commercial significance of cattle, that also served symbolic and political importance.

Farming and cattle raising served as the country’s prime export in the pre-colonialism era. Those with significant accumulation of cattle held senior positions in government. In post-colonial rule, this position was upheld despite the influx of those with “wealth beyond the modern sphere of the postcolonial state government” (Gulbrandsen 111). Both new and old money had a seat at the table. Gulbrandsen goes on to further argue that while Botswana already had high livestock population, they had an even better veterinary system. The abundance of cattle, its safety insured by proper veterinary practices, and the stability of a small canning facility, allowed livestock industry to grow to bigger markets. Indigenous fundamental of cattle raising coupled with western elites bringing products to global markets was another example of Botswana’s symbiotic state structure.  And it was this relationship that aided in weathering against kleptocracy when diamonds were discovered in the 1970s. The Financial Assistance Policy was established in order to “once again disseminate resources to people taken by an entrepreneurial spirit (Gulbrandsen 127). This policy established a free market, in which the wealth could be shared amongst those who sought it out through creating businesses of their own. With livestock still sustaining as an example of symbiotic political practices, the diamond wealth merely added to the existing systems. Had Botswana been exempt from the ability to merge these two fundamentals, the indigenous and the western, the future of its success may have been nonexistent.

And in countries where this divide was felt most, Angola sits closest to the top of that list. Having been colonized by Portugul for close to 500 years, everything from roads built, to natural resources extracted, any amenities, infrastructure developments, or improvements were intended to supply Portugal, while little of that wealth was returned to the population (James 47). The exploitation of Angola bled well into the early 20th century. World War II brought with it financial devastation to European powers, yet despite this fact, Portugul held on to its colonial property until Angola’s final war for independence in 1975. During the entirety of Portugul’s reign however, Angola had been fraught with civil war, while the “scars of the past continue delimit the realm of the ‘possible’ today” (Faria 74). Missionaries coming to Angola and establishing churches were “instrumental in forging an attitude of resistance and national consciousness” (Faria 119). And from these religious institutions, three liberation groups formed. Following the Methodist church, was the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Following the Baptist church, was the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA). And following the evangelical missionaries, were the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Nonetheless, original pre-colonial infrastructure was weakened, as it was never really able to be established. This was also especially challenging when the war in the Belgian Congo reached their doorstep. The introduction of oil only furthered this obstruction. Resistance to Portuguese rule had existed since the 15th century, but introduction of oil wealth had fed into civil unrest. The interest of the general populace, their economic strengths through agriculture, and the traditional indigenous customs were negated and devalued. Weakened by constant civil war, the harmony seen in Botswana would be extremely challenging under these conditions. So when the Cold War came, and several of the liberation movements had allied with the US, it was no surprise that the US would also take interest in developing in this area as well. Yet while Angola was rich in providing a significant amount of oil to the global elite, the infrastructure that had been established by the Portuguese benefitted them and their allies over the people of Angola. And the civil arrest perpetuated.

The trajectory of these countries varied greatly. Botswana with its seemingly unobstructed and subtle independence throughout its colonial era, versus the war stricken Angola, resulted in vastly different state structures. Botswana stands as a lasting example that if a country establishes its agency and empowerment, then the products of their interests can be quite plentiful and harmonious. It’s when we devalue a country based on racial prejudices, hinder them from their ability to flourish, that they stay weakened in the process.

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Citations

Yates, Douglas A.. Scramble for African Oil : Oppression, Corruption and War for Control of Africa's Natural Resources, Pluto Press, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/washington/detail.action?docID=3386581.

Cleveland, Todd. Diamonds in the Rough : Corporate Paternalism and African Professionalism on the Mines of Colonial Angola, 1917-1975, Ohio University Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/washington/detail.action?docID=2058140.

Sidaway, James D., and David Simon. “Geopolitical Transition and State Formation: The Changing Political Geographies of Angola, Mozambique and Namibia.” Journal of Southern African Studies, vol. 19, no. 1, 1993, pp. 6–28. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2636954.

Gulbrandsen, Ørnulf. The State and the Social: State Formation in Botswana and Its Precolonial and Colonial Genealogies. 1st ed., Berghahn Books, 2012. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qd0n4.

Faria, Paulo C. J. The Post-War Angola : Public Sphere, Political Regime and Democracy. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013.

James, Martin W., and Susan H. Broadhead. Historical Dictionary of Angola, Scarecrow Press, 2004. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/washington/detail.action?docID=467018.