Polity Atlas
Article

Does Oil Hinder Democracy?

Michael L. Ross · World Politics 53(3), 325–361 · 2001

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Type
Article
Author
Michael L. Ross
Identifier
DOI 10.1353/wp.2001.0011
Accessed
2026-09-01

Claims citing this source

5 claims
TheoryRoss (2001) tested three explanations of the association between oil and authoritarianism: a rentier effect (low taxes and patronage dampen democratic pressure), a repression effect (resource wealth funds internal security) and a modernisation effect (growth without social change).DisputedWhether rents themselves impede democracy is disputed: Herb (2005) argues that once the effect of rents on economic development is accounted for, rentierism has no consistent negative effect on democracy.TheoryUsing pooled data on 113 states from 1971 to 1997, Ross (2001) found that oil exports are strongly associated with authoritarian rule, that the effect is not limited to the Middle East, and that other mineral exports have a similar effect while other commodity exports do not.DisputedThe absence of an empowered parliament allowed the UAE's rulers, unlike Kuwait's, to pursue economic diversification instead of maximising distribution to citizens.TheoryCollective control of the top state posts by the ruling family ('dynastic monarchy') made the Gulf monarchies, including Saudi Arabia, more resilient than single-ruler monarchies that were overthrown in Egypt, Iraq, Libya and Iran.