ABSTRACT
Natural resources are materials or substances like petroleum, minerals, forests, water and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain (Chichilnisky 1996: 136). The two main schools of thought on the relationship between natural resource wealth and political stability are the ‘resource curse’ school and that of the ‘rentier state’. Proponents of the resource curse hypothesis claim that states with an abundance of natural resources have a tendency towards political instability, and this will most likely result in in civil war. With such an abundance of natural resources, there is both a motive and opportunity for conflict. This may thus indirectly create instability as a result of institutional or economic factors (Basedau and Lay 2009: 757).
