Cursed by crude: The corporatist resource curse and the baku-tbilisi-ceyhan pipeline

Abstract

Based primarily on research interviews and field research, this article explores the impacts of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which traverses Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The article first describes its research methods and links two separate strands of political economy literature to develop the notion of a corporatist resource curse. This concept suggests that when private and government actors partner to extract resources such as oil rapidly, the arrangement produces a system that consolidates wealth and ignores the interests of civil society and the public. The BTC pipeline illustrates the corporatist resource curse nicely, as its primary beneficiaries are a consortium of private companies and government elites, whereas various financial, humanitarian, environmental, social and legal impacts are felt throughout society at large. The article concludes by drawing out the implications of the BTC pipeline and the corporatist resource curse for public policy, energy development, infrastructure projects and corporate social responsibility. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.