ABSTRACT
Not only does the legacy of extractive industries affect institutional development in the Andean countries, the success (or otherwise) of extractive industries also hinges crucially on the historical and institutional context in which the state is fundamental. It is not the size or scope of the state that matters, but the efficacy with which it is able to reconcile competing claims and demands in such a way as to maintain its legitimacy in the eyes of citizens. As we shall see, the record in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador is hardly encouraging in this respect. However, recent extractive industry conflicts may be producing institutional developments that in the future will prove conducive to more peaceful resolution of disputes. In this sense, while in each country the politics of conflict around extractives reflect wider state-society relations, these conflicts also have the potential to change the institutions that govern these very same sets of state-society relationships.
