Democracy and Difference Seminar Series 2016-17

Steffen Hertog, London School of Economics - Why Are Some Oil Dictators Nice To Their People?

This paper (co-authored with Ferdinand Eibl) addresses the puzzle why some oil-rich authoritarian rulers share wealth widely with citizens while others provide almost no public goods. We demonstrate that subversive threats during moments of regime formation fundamentally shift rulers¹ incentives away from kleptocracy toward a pro-welfare use of oil income. When rulers of resource-rich countries are not threatened by organized popular demands, they can withdraw from the provision of public services and maximize rent-seeking. When they are under threat, however, rents allow them to simultaneously maintain their elite coalitions and invest in social development, taking the wind out of the sails of local revolutionaries. The paper is based on a number of statistical tests on a new global dataset of political subversion and public goods provision and a number of nested case studies drawing on primary archival documents from UK colonial and diplomatic records.

Biography

Steffen Hertog is an associate professor of comparative politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His research interests include Gulf politics, Middle East political economy, political violence and radicalization and he has published in journals such as World Politics, Review of International Political Economy, Comparative Studies in Society and History, European Journal of Sociology and International Journal of Middle East Studies. His book about Saudi state-building, 'Princes, Brokers and Bureaucrats: Oil and State in Saudi Arabia' was published by Cornell University Press in 2011. He is the co-author, with Diego Gambetta, of 'Engineers of Jihad: the Curious Connection between Violent Extremism and Education' (with Princeton University Press 2016).

The Democracy and Difference Seminar Series is jointly supported by Blavatnik School of Government, Department of Politics and International Relations, and Nuffield College. Convened by Nancy Bermeo, Maya Tudor, Ezequiel Gonzalez Ocantos and Jody LaPorte.

Advanced sign-up is required – please email events@bsg.ox.ac.uk stating which sessions you will attend. Lunch is provided.