Nathan Andrews

Preventing The Oil “Resource Curse” In Ghana: Lessons From Nigeria

Ghana joined the list of oil-producing countries with the export of its first oil from the Jubilee oilfield in January 2011. President John Atta Millss statement drawing attention to the potential paradigm shift as well as risks that the discovery of oil and gas imposes not only speaks to the complexity of extractive-industry-engendered development, but it also makes it imperative that the country learns from other countries’ successes and failures. In this article, we use the “resource curse” thesis to examine the emerging dynamics and complexities in Ghanas oil industry, with the attempt to draw both correlations with and lessons from the Nigerian case. The article highlights five key lessons in Nigerias management of its oil–gas resources related to the legal-regulatory framework, development of the oil-producing areas, Corporate Social Responsibility, management of oil revenues, and oil–civil society nexus that Ghana should give serious thoughts to in order to leverage its new found oil wealth and avert the “resource curse.”

A Post-development Hoax? (Re)-examining the Past, Present and Future of Development Studies

Because of the absence of evidence to show for its utility, the notion of ‘development’ has been fraught with many debates over the years. This paper is concerned with re-examining the future of development studies, based on its past and present trajectories. The argument here is that development may be useful if its norms and practices become context-specific and are made to benefit its purported beneficiaries. The chronology spans the period after World War II to the present day, and thus covers theories that envision alternatives. While this chronology is overlapping, we hope to show that development studies has been marked by both continuities and discontinuities.

A Swiss‐Army Knife? A Critical Assessment of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Ghana

Within the current global atmosphere where a universally accepted police force is nonexistent, there are several voluntary norms and codes of conduct that exist to guide how corporations behave worldwide. These have come as a result of many years of poor performance in the areas of social, financial, and environmental responsibility. Such norms are expected to prescribe and proscribe certain types of corporate behavior but when one examines the reality on the ground, the story is not that straightforward. This article assesses the effectiveness of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in the Ghanaian context with a focus on the mining sector. Based on primary qualitative data the argument is that even though the EITI is performing some function, it has ways to go before it can become an across‐the‐board viable tool for transparency and proper accountability. Five prevailing weaknesses are discussed to underscore this case.

What/who is still missing in International Relations scholarship? Situating Africa as an agent in IR theorising

Abstract This paper engages with non-Western, specifically African, scholarship and insight with the goal of highlighting the importance of African contributions to IR theorising. We highlight the Western dominance in IR theorising and examine the inadequacy of the major analytical constructs provided by established IR theory in capturing and explaining shifting reality in Africa. We argue that African insights, experience and ideas present a challenge to dominant IR constructs and knowledge within the international system, and that these insights, when taken seriously, would enrich our understanding of IR. We show this by problematising some central (often taken-for-granted) IR concepts such as the state, liberalism and individualism and underscore the need to reconstruct more encompassing ‘stories’ and images to innovate, revise and potentially replace some of the conventional ‘stories’ that have been told in IR.

Corporations, Civil Society, and Disclosure: A Case Study of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

Corporations, Civil Society and Disclosure: A Case Study of the EITI by James Van Alstine and Nathan Andrews assesses one of the current multi-stakeholder initiatives in the global extractives industry, namely, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). As an arrangement that is growing in popularity as an international standard for revenue transparency and good governance in the sector, the chapter discusses its roots, strengths, and weaknesses. Van Alstine and Andrews also highlight the future potential of the initiative in light of the 2013 EITI Standard, which seeks to help overcome some of challenges the EITI has encountered since its inception in 2002.

Beyond the Ivory Tower: A Case for ‘Praxeological Deconstructionism’ as a ‘Third Way’ in IR Theorising

Abstract International Relations ( ir ) scholars and students are often presented with four (sometimes five) ‘great debates’ that characterise the ‘state of the discipline’. However, Robert Cox’s 1981 article in Millennium simplified the discussion into two binaries: problem-solving theory vs critical theory. While this configuration has been influential, it has inhibited the reflexivity, complexity, as well as the multidisciplinary nature of the discipline. This paper moves beyond this problematic simplification to construct a ‘third way’, which borrows from both rationalist and critical approaches to craft a somewhat distinct niche in ir theory. It calls for the dual goal of deconstruction and reconstruction. With this approach I seek to show the mutually constitutive synergies between knowledge/theory and practice, and to expatiate on the argument that theory is indeed always for someone and for some purpose, whether such normative underpinnings are latent or manifest.

Conclusion: Africa Beyond 2015—MDG Prospects, Its Discontents, and Implications

The post-2015 agenda looks promising. Even prior to digging into this agenda, there is a possibility that some African countries will achieve a fair number of the MDGs to some extent just before 2015. Nevertheless, the deliberative process surrounding the goals failed to properly include the voices of marginalized and indigenous populations even though it was popularized as an agenda that would be a product of a participatory process. This lack of a real bottom-up engagement has greatly affected what progress has been chalked. Where progress is being made, improvements are often not evenly shared throughout the continent. As chapters in this volume have emphasized, the MDG targets must be interpreted as applicable to each individual country. This chapter sums up and reflects on the discussions in the preceding chapters and postulates what could lie ahead for Africa’s development, particularly without the MDGs.

Introduction: Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Retrospect in Africa

Since coming into being in the year 2000, the normative consensus that solidified the creation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been one that has been forceful due to the number of nation-states and international organizations that have rallied around the issue. The progressive nature of the MDGs and their integral role in mobilising resources to aid African countries is worth recognizing. Nonetheless, there remain concerns about the arbitrary way of measuring progress towards the goals and the fact that women, the poorest of the poor and those who live in rural areas tend to benefit less. The chapter asks two primary questions: what potential alternatives could replace the unattained goals once the 2015 deadline is reached? Do African governments have the potential and political will to carry these goals through? An editorial reflection on the various chapters in this volume helps us explore these questions in this particular chapter.