ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to contextualize our enquiry into the causes and nature of resource nationalism in Latin America. It examines the relationship between resources and development, particularly the applicability to Latin America of claims that resources constitute a curse for economic development. It then explores the institutional turn in resource politics, focusing on the nature of the state and its importance for resource nationalism. The examination of how the state has transformed itself around the question of resource nationalism, permits us to contribute to theoretical debates about the conditions under which rent-seeking is curtailed or promoted, and whether sufficient institutional capacity and autonomy can be built to make the most out of resource endowments. The chapter also examines the legislative and regulatory changes that have been made over the last twenty-five years in the resource sector. This detailed analysis allows us to classify countries according to limited, moderate, and radical approaches to resource nationalism.
