Patriarchy

The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations

Citation:

Ross, Michael L. 2012. The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 

Author: Michael L. Ross

Abstract:

Countries that are rich in petroleum have less democracy, less economic stability, and more frequent civil wars than countries without oil. What explains this oil curse? And can it be fixed? In this groundbreaking analysis, Michael L. Ross looks at how developing nations are shaped by their mineral wealth--and how they can turn oil from a curse into a blessing. Ross traces the oil curse to the upheaval of the 1970s, when oil prices soared and governments across the developing world seized control of their countries' oil industries. Before nationalization, the oil-rich countries looked much like the rest of the world; today, they are 50 percent more likely to be ruled by autocrats--and twice as likely to descend into civil war--than countries without oil. The Oil Curse shows why oil wealth typically creates less economic growth than it should; why it produces jobs for men but not women; and why it creates more problems in poor states than in rich ones. It also warns that the global thirst for petroleum is causing companies to drill in increasingly poor nations, which could further spread the oil curse. This landmark book explains why good geology often leads to bad governance, and how this can be changed.

Annotation:

  • Size is not as important as source: Cursed states fluctuate and easily hide revenue because it is not based on taxation, in contrast to European states -- Availability of rents means oil-producing states are 30% less reliant on taxes ($6 in Canada vs. $42 in Nigeria)

  • MNCs create physical and economic enclaves and use own resources or employ expatriates to live on the oil rigs, creating little to no impact on economic growth for the region

  • Defies two trends: wealthier without more democracy or progress toward gender equality

  • When women work outside the home, they develop crucial networks, conversations, confidence and income to increase their bargaining power in the household and society. 

  • TNOCs are more likely to hire men when it requires strength, expensive training, or domestic markets

  • Dutch Disease crowds out manufacturing opportunities, and domestic manufacturers are more likely to employ men

  • When oil booms do create jobs, they are usually in the service sector, which is good for women if they can obtain these jobs -- “In countries where women face barriers to working in the service sector, oil wealth is liable to retard their economic, social and political progress” (118)

  • Number of working women is 23% lower in oil states (smaller ratio in the rest of the developing world) (120)

  • Non-oil states have more export manufacturing jobs

  • Oil countries are 50% more likely to have a civil war -- Oil makes governments larger, less accountable, and dominated by men, but cause of civil war is related to citizens (146)

Quotes:

“As countries get richer, women typically gain more opportunities – both economic opportunities in the workplace, and political opportunities to serve in government. Yet this has not occurred in countries that get rich by selling petroleum. The benefits of oil booms usually go to men.” (111)

“The long-run economic success of oil-rich states seems to depend partly on their success in drawing women into the labor force, which reduces fertility rates and the demand for migrant labor, and thus population growth; and partly on the government’s capacity to maintain countercyclical policies that smooth out booms and busts.” (230)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Development, Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Globalization, Governance, Households, Livelihoods, Multi-National Corporations, Political Economies, Political Participation, Religion, Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2012

Oil, Islam, and Women

Citation:

Ross, Michael L. 2008. “Oil, Islam, and Women.” American Political Science Review 102 (01). doi:10.1017/S0003055408080040.

Author: Michael L. Ross

Abstract:

Women have made less progress toward gender equality in the Middle East than in any other region. Many observers claim this is due to the region’s Islamic traditions. I suggest that oil, not Islam, is at fault; and that oil production also explains why women lag behind in many other countries. Oil production reduces the number of women in the labor force, which in turn reduces their political influence. As a result, oil-producing states are left with atypically strong patriarchal norms, laws, and political institutions. I support this argument with global data on oil production, female work patterns, and female political representation, and by comparing oil-rich Algeria to oil-poor Morocco and Tunisia. This argument has implications for the study of the Middle East, Islamic culture, and the resource curse.

Annotation:

Quotes:

“Oil production affects gender relations by reducing the presence of women in the labor force. The failure of women to join the nonagricultural labor force has profound social consequences: it leads to higher fertility rates, less education for girls, and less female influence within the family. It also has far-reaching political consequences: when fewer women work outside the home, they are less likely to exchange information and overcome collective action problems; less likely to mobilize politically, and to lobby for expanded rights; and less likely to gain representation in government. This leaves oil-producing states with atypically strong patriarchal cultures and political institutions.” (107)

“When labor markets are segregated by gender, and women have little political power, how can they enter the work force in large numbers? Since the early days of the industrial revolution, the answer has often come from the development of low-wage export-oriented industries, especially in textiles, garments, and processed agricultural goods… Factories are even more likely to employ women when they export their products. Several studies show that even within a single industry, export-oriented firms employ women at a higher rate than do similar firms that produce goods for domestic markets (Başlevent and Onaran 2004; Ozler 2000).” (108)

“Women have better political representation in countries that have little or no oil, in five the seven categories of states: high and low income, Middle East, Islamic, and all states. This is striking since oil-rich countries have higher incomes than the oil-poor states within each category of stages, which would suggest higher, not lower, female representation.” (114)

“Islam has no statistically significant effect on any of the dependent variables in the fully specified models. This implies that some measures of female status in the Middle East can be partly explained by the region’s oil wealth, but not by its Islamic culture or traditions. This is not true of all dimensions of female status: measures of female education—–including adult literacy, primary school enrollment and the ratio between enrolled girls and boys—–are negatively correlated with Islam, and seem to be unaffected by Oil Rents.” (115)

“The gains in the oil-rich states have been slower than the gains in oil-poor states: between 1995 and 2002, oil-poor states (< $100 per capita in oil rents) had a 5% increase in the number of female representatives, whereas oil-rich states (> $100 per capita in oil rents) had only a 2.9% increase.” (116)

“Although they [Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia] are otherwise similar [French colonies, independence at same time, quick suffrage, Muslim], they have different levels of oil wealth… they also have different levels of female political representation… Morocco and Tunisia now have the two highest rates of female labor force participation in the world.” (118-9)

“When economic growth is the result of industrialization—–particularly the type of export- oriented manufacturing that draws women into the labor force—–it should also bring about the changes in gender relations that we associate with modernization. But income that comes from oil extraction often fails to produce industrialization—–and can even discourage industrialization by causing the Dutch Disease.” (120)

“… Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, and Mexico. The first three countries are probably exceptions to the general pattern because of reasons implied by the model: since women already had a large presence in the nontraded sector (thanks to the size and diversification of these economies), rising oil exports did not crowd them out of the labor market. The two Central Asian states were strongly affected by many years of Soviet rule, which promoted the role of women through administrative fiat; this may have inoculated them against oil-induced patriarchy.” (121)

Topics: Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Livelihoods, Political Economies, Political Participation, Religion, Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, MENA, Asia, Middle East

Year: 2008

The Delta Creeks, Women’s Engagement and Nigeria’s Oil Insurgency

Citation:

Oriola, T. 2012. “The Delta Creeks, Women’s Engagement and Nigeria’s Oil Insurgency.” British Journal of Criminology 52 (3): 534–55. doi:10.1093/bjc/azs009.

Author: T. Oriola

Abstract:

The on-going insurgency in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria continues to have serious consequences for oil workers, corporations and the global oil market. In spite of the growing interest in arguably the greatest existential threat to the Nigerian state since the Civil War of 1967–70, scant scholarly attention has been paid to the Delta creeks and the fundamental roles performed by women in the insurgency. This paper interrogates the space represented by the creeks as the home territory of insurgents in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta. Using interview and focus group data garnered from 42 insurgents and five other sets of actors, I analyse the operational significance and symbolism of the creeks and its processual social sorting. In addition, I demonstrate the dichotomous relationship of women to the creeks. Women constitute a major source of reconnaissance, spiritual fortification, among other roles, but are concurrently considered eewo or abomination by male insurgents. Although academic analysis has been overwhelmingly concerned with the supportive roles and nonviolent protests of women, the Delta women are actively engaged in the on-going violent repertoires of protest.

Keywords: Niger Delta, insurgency, oil struggle, Nigerian women, Niger Delta creeks

Annotation:

  • Women mediate between insurgents, the state and TNOCs, exercise “sexual power” (see Turner and Brownhill), are sometimes employed as gunmen, act as emissaries for insurgents (seduce security guards for information, etc.), and provide spiritual fortification.

Quotes:

"I argue that, although scholarly attention has been overwhelmingly concerned with the supportive roles and non-violent protests of women, the Delta women are actively engaged in the on-going violent repertoires of protest in various capacities as gun-runners, combatants, mediators and emissaries of insurgents, amongst others.” (2)

“It is hardly surprising that the United States considers African oil—a major part of it Nigerian in origin—as a commodity of ‘strategic national interest’ (Klare and Volman 2004: 227). The continued provision of arms and ammunitions to the Nigerian state in its war against insurgents is part of the wider securitization of oil in Nigeria by the American and British governments (Lubeck et al. 2007) amid incursion into the Nigerian oil industry by countries like China (see Obi 2008).” (8)

“Focusing on the role of women in the domestic domain inadvertently feeds into the patriarchal ideological underpinnings of the Nigerian society. By establishing key areas in which women participate in the Delta insurgency, I aim to demonstrate that women are an essential part of the violent forms of protest just as they have been active participants in non-violent protest.” (10)

“Women benefit from the facticity of femininity and occupation of a socio-cultural space that construes (Delta) women as somehow less dangerous than men.” (11)

“In the case of the Delta insurgency, female insurgents perform influential roles that the society accords them. However, the young women are perceived as wayward and unsuitable as wives and mothers. Their participation is also largely marginalized. When the federal government of Nigeria granted amnesty to all interested insurgents, for instance, women were among the last set of participants to go through the process of rehabiliation because male insurgents received priority attention. Women’s participation in the insurgency and the rehabilitation exercise seems devalued and relegated to the fringes.” (18)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Female Combatants, Development, Economies, Extractive Industries, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups, Multi-National Corporations, Political Participation, Weapons /Arms Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2012

The Impact of Petroleum Refinery on the Economic Livelihoods of Women in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

Citation:

Omorodion, Francis Isi. 2004. “The Impact of Petroleum Refinery on the Economic Livelihoods of Women in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.” JENDA: A Journal of Culture and African Women Studies (6): 1–15.

Author: Francis Isi Omorodion

Abstract:

Based on the premise that globalization infringes on the sovereignty of nation-states through promoting free movement of capital and labor, this paper seeks to delineate the impact of petroleum refinery on the economic livelihoods of women in Africa, using Niger Delta region of Nigeria as a case study. Indigenous communities are characterized by economy in which women are active and bear the primary responsibility of feeding members of their homesteads. However, globalization capitalizes on cultural factors through its gender segregation and inequality in African society to attain its goal of profit maximization through practice of male inclusiveness in the activities of petroleum refinery to support the supremacy of male economic livelihoods over that of female. Oil companies provide the male population with alternative employment in the oil industry, and/or pay the men "standby", referring to payment of stipend for no job done. Yet, a majority of women bear the burden for the survival of their household unit, either as the primary breadwinner of female-headed households or of their unit within a polygamous homestead. The paper argues that patriarchy and globalization subjugate women by neglecting and making female economic activities invisible and insignificant. Ultimately, by focusing attention on the operations of oil companies in Nigeria, the fundamental argument based on globalization, patriarchy, and gendering has a wider and global relevance as we peruse the impact of petroleum refinery on women's involvement in development.

Topics: Development, Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Gender Roles, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Globalization, Households, Indigenous, Livelihoods, Multi-National Corporations, Political Economies Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2004

Petroleum Patriarchy? A Response to Ross

Citation:

Norris, Pippa. 2009. “Petroleum Patriarchy? A Response to Ross.” Politics & Gender 5 (4): 553-560. doi:10.1017/S1743923X09990365.

Author: Pippa Norris

Abstract:

The notion of a “resource curse” has been most commonly applied in explaining why many countries apparently blessed with abundant reserves of nonrenewable mineral resources, such as Nigerian oil, Democratic Republic of Congo gold, or Sierra Leone diamonds, in fact, are commonly blighted with less transparency and probity, economic stability, economic diversification, social equality, and investment in human capital. In these conditions, the heightened danger of state capture and rent seeking by ruling elites generate poorer prospects for the transition from autocracy and the consolidation of stable democracies (Auty 1993; Boix 2003; Dunning 2008; Jensen and Wantchekon 2004; Ross 2001). Lootable mineral resources, in particular, are thought to make a country particularly vulnerable to civil war, insurgency, and rebellion (Collier and Sambanis 2005; Humphreys 2005; Ross 2004, 2006; Snyder 2006).

Annotation:

Quotes:

 “Patriarchal cultures in Arab states did not spring up overnight in the mid-nineteenth century as the result of the discovery and commercial exploitation of refined petroleum; they have enduring historical roots that predate the discovery and production of oil. In the extreme cases of states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where women continue to lack the legal right to vote and to stand for office, it also remains unclear theoretically how any amount of female participation in the labor force will eventually facilitate women’s representation in decision-making.” (556)

“If the oil and gas extraction industries are overwhelmingly male dominated, then so too is the workforce mining gold, diamonds, and copper. Since the extraction and distribution of natural commodities forms a critical part of the economy in many diverse regions of the world, a measure that reflects a more comprehensive basket of these resources would also help to disentangle the complex effects of Muslim religious faith and oil.” (557)

“Therefore, the research literature presents a wealth of evidence that the resource curse can probably be blamed for a multitude of ills, from conflict and civil war to anemic economic growth, corruption, state capture, and the contemporary push-back in Russia and Venezuela against the forces of democratization. But it has not yet been clearly established whether the resource curse, at least petroleum, is a major factor at the heart of the problems concerning the continuing gender disparities in elected office among Arab states.” (559)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Corruption, Democracy / Democratization, Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Governance, Livelihoods, Religion, Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2009

Gendered Livelihoods in Small Mines and Quarries in India: Living on the Edge

Citation:

Lahiri-Dutt, Kuntala. 2006. “Gendered Livelihoods in Small Mines and Quarries in India: Living on the Edge.” Working Paper, Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, New Delhi.

Author: Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt

Annotation:

This scoping study aims to provide a clearer picture of gender roles, issues and concerns in the artisanal and small mines (ASM) sector in India. Women constitute a large segment of workers in the informal mines all over the world. In India, however, the patriarchal social structure tends to obscure the contributions made by the women workers in these mines. This exploratory research addresses this gap in existing knowledge and leads to engendering the development initiatives in small mines and quarries in the country. Women workers in the informal mines all over the world form the proverbial ‘poorest of the poor’, in urgent need of developmental interventions that will improve their ability to choose. I hope that this report will provide the necessary backdrop, relevant information and interpretation of their livelihood needs for developing policy measures. One of the objectives of developmental interventions is to explore the prospects for establishing sustainable livelihoods for local communities in these mineral-rich tracts. Addressing the needs, roles and concerns of both women and men who participate in the mining activities is the first step towards this goal.”

(Lahiri-Dutt, 2006, p. 3).

 

Topics: Development, Economies, Poverty, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2006

Studying Oil, Islam, and Women as If Political Institutions Mattered

Citation:

Kang, Alice. 2009. “Studying Oil, Islam, and Women as If Political Institutions Mattered.” Politics & Gender 5 (4): 560-568. doi:10.1017/S1743923X09990377.

Author: Alice Kang

Annotation:

Quotes:

"By asserting that oil, not Islam, hurts gender equality, Michael Ross (2008) has made an important contribution to the debate on whether Islam bodes ill for women (Fish 2002; Inglehart and Norris 2003; Spierings, Smits, and Verloo 2009). Ross suggests that oil production decreases the number of female workers in countries with occupational segregation. The more women are left out of the formal economy, the fewer opportunities and resources they have for becoming influential political constituencies. According to Ross, “[t]his leaves oil-producing states with atypically strong patriarchal cultures and political institutions” (p. 107). Employing the same set of countries and data used in Ross (2008), I show that the institution of gender quotas, which is omitted from his statistical analyses, offsets the effects of oil rents on women’s political representation. Gender quotas increase women’s representation in Muslim majority and non-Muslim majority countries and in countries that are oil rich and oil poor. That “petroleum perpetuates patriarchy” (120) is a tendency, not destiny." (Kang, 2009, p. 560)

“Political institutions may alter the incentive structure that encourages rent-seeking behavior in resource-abundant countries (Mehlum, Moene, and Torvik 2006; Robinson, Torvik, and Verdier 2006). In the absence of a quota system, leaders may be more likely to ignore the demands of the female electorate during an oil boom. When quotas are in place, leaders may cater more to women’s demands even during an oil boom. In an authoritarian state, leaders may disregard women’s demands when oil is plentiful, whereas leaders in a democratic state may seek out female voters by using oil revenues to provide jobs, education, and health care.” (p. 561)

“This essay finds, however, that gender quotas may offset the negative effect of oil rents on the presence of women in national parliaments.” (p. 566)

“What is the effect of oil on women’s mobilization and movement success?... What are the causal mechanisms by which political institutions mitigate the perverse effects of oil? Do institutions alter the economic aspects of the gendered resource curse (i.e., Dutch disease) or do institutions lessen the resource curse by changing the incentives that rent-seeking leaders face? To what extent are institutions endogenous to natural resources? Why do some oil-producing countries adopt gender quotas while others do not?... Do institutions also constrain the ways in which religion influences political outcomes for women?” (p. 566)

Topics: Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Quotas, Livelihoods, Political Participation, Religion, Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2009

Doing Gender and Development: Understanding Empowerment and Local Gender Relations

Citation:

Sharp, Joanne, John Briggs, Hoda Yacoub, and Nabila Hamed. 2003. “Doing Gender and Development: Understanding Empowerment and Local Gender Relations.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 28 (3): 281–95.

Authors: Joanne Sharp, John Briggs, Hoda Yacoub, Nabila Hamed

Abstract:

A major dilemma in Gender and Development (GAD) work is why it is that sometimes women may feel better off colluding with gendered structures that ensure their continued subordination rather than seeking approaches that will allow them to break free of this. Kandiyoti (1988 Gender and Society 2 274-90) has identified this apparent collusion as 'patriarchal bargains', which offer women greater advantages than they perceive can be achieved by challenging the prevailing are therefore reluctant to engage in empowering activities that may challenge their gendered bargain. This paper explains this dilemma in the context of GAD work undertaken with Bedouin women in Southern Egypt.

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy Regions: Africa, MENA, North Africa, Middle East Countries: Egypt

Year: 2003

Rethinking Theory

Citation:

Peterson, V. Spike. 2012. “Rethinking Theory.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 14 (1): 5–35. doi:10.1080/14616742.2011.631276.

Author: V. Spike Peterson

Abstract:

‘Capitalist racist patriarchy’ is how Zillah Eisenstein (1998) characterizes global inequalities and the hierarchies of ‘difference’ they constitute. This article assumes that feminist theory aims not only to ‘empower women’ but to advance critical analyses of intersecting structural hierarchies; that this entails not only a critique of patriarchy but its complex conjunction with capitalism and racism; and that such critique requires rethinking theory. Through a critical lens on devalued (‘feminized’) informal work worldwide, the article explores how positivist, modernist and masculinist commitments variously operate in prevailing theories of informality – including those of feminists – with the effect of impeding both intersectional analyses and more adequate critiques of capitalist racist patriarchy. 

Keywords: critical theory, difference, feminism, feminist theory, Gender, global political economy, informal economy, intersectionality, IR, masculinism, modernism

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Political Economies, Race

Year: 2012

The Morning After: Sexual Politics at the End of the Cold War

Citation:

Enloe, Cynthia. 1993. The Morning After: Sexual Politics at the End of the Cold War. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Author: Cynthia Enloe

Abstract:

Cynthia Enloe's riveting new book looks at the end of the Cold War and places women at the center of international politics. Focusing on the relationship between the politics of sexuality and the politics of militarism, Enloe charts the changing definitions of gender roles, sexuality, and militarism at the end of the twentieth century.

In the gray dawn of this new era, Enloe finds that the politics of sexuality have already shifted irrevocably. Women glimpse the possibilities of democratization and demilitarization within what is still a largely patriarchal world. New opportunities for greater freedom are seen in emerging social movements—gays fighting for their place in the American military, Filipina servants rallying for their rights in Saudi Arabia, Danish women organizing against the European Community's Maastricht treaty. Enloe also documents the ongoing assaults against women as newly emerging nationalist movements serve to reestablish the privileges of masculinity.

The voices of real women are heard in this book. They reach across cultures, showing the interconnections between military networks, jobs, domestic life, and international politics. The Morning After will spark new ways of thinking about the complexities of the post-Cold War period, and it will bring contemporary sexual politics into the clear light of day as no other book has done. (University of California Press)

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Women, Masculinity/ies, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarism, Political Economies, Post-Conflict, Sexuality

Year: 1993

Pages

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