The politics of governing oil and gas in sub-Saharan Africa: what influence do different types of political settlement have on the capacity and commitment to govern oil in the national interest?

Our comparative project into the politics of natural resource governance in sub-Saharan Africa is framed within two related debates around the politics of natural resource governance, and of development more broadly. These concern whether and how political settlements shape oil governance and, within this, how well 'best practice' institutional arrangements 'fit' with different political settlements. this research protocol identifies the main propositions that flow from these agendas, and which we want to explore in relation to specific dimensions of oil/gas governance, and what we need to put in place (analytically) to achieve this. This will include a clear characterisation of the political settlement and also the nature of 'oil/gas' complex in each country, and of the kinds of processes and outcomes we're interested in exploring. The note then sets out the three key aspects of natural resource governance that the project will focus on - new institutional arrangements, deal-making and pockets of effectiveness (PoEs) - and suggests particular types of questions that we would want to ask in relation to each of these. The last section sets out a table with a proposed timetable for the key activities and an associated division of labour.