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The Influence of Oil Exports Dependence on Corruption and Political Freedom in the Countries of the Gulf of Guinea Region

The paper explores the topic of the oil exports’ influence on the corruption of the public sector, and the degree of political freedom in the Gulf of Guinea region. The main thesis of the paper is that a higher level of dependence on oil exports for a country from the Gulf of Guinea region means a higher level of corruption and a lower level of political freedom in the society. The most important natural resource by far that is being exploited in the region is oil. So the pattern mentioned can be found in all of the states of the region that are dependent on oil exports. This is actually the real meaning of the term “the curse of oil” or the “oil curse”. A large proportion of the oil rents simply “disappears” through the corruptive behaviour of the political and military elites. Therefore, the overwhelming majority of the population in the countries of the Gulf of Guinea region spends their lives in poverty. Societies that exist in the Gulf of Guinea region states would be better off without the oil and that oil is the real “curse” of this region. The research of the human development index, the corruption perception index, and the degree of political freedoms and civil liberties, done on the countries from the Gulf of Guinea region, has shown that the main hypothesis is valid. Dependence on oil exports for a country from the Gulf of Guinea region means a propensity towards a higher level of corruption of the public sector and a lower level of political freedom and civil liberties in the society.

natural resources ; oil ; Gulf of Guinea region ; democratization ; corruption ; diversification of economy

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