Pérouse de Montclos Marc-Antoine auteur aut IRD text report Litérature grise eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Oil production in Nigeria is often believed to bring economic failure, political instability, the inability to democratise, high levels of corruption, and violence in the form of rising crime, interstate wars, and internal conflicts. Such an assumption is quite prevalent amongst aid practitioners, journalists, activists, and some academics. Yet there are many exceptions in developing countries, and this paper empirically criticizes the "resource curse" theory by focusing on the relationship between oil-producing states and war. It first examines contradictions and correlations that do not demonstrate causality. To escape economic determinism, it then suggests paying more attention to political contexts and historical timeframes, especially when authoritarian regimes existed before oil production. Sometimes, the oil rent can indeed exacerbate conflicts. But it is never a single cause. A quick reading of averages and correlations can be misleading in this regard. The conclusion thus calls for further qualitative investigation. specialized NIGERIA 096ENERG 114VIPOL 095DEVEL 112HISTO Nairobi IFRA 2014 32 41 multigr. 41 multigr. 41 multigr. https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010084178 [F B010084178] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010084178 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2022-11/010084178.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2022-02-09 2023-11-21 fdi:010084178 fre