ABSTRACT
This chapter serves as the introduction to the book and delves into a consideration of the “resource curse” in the global, African, and Ghanaian contexts. It also examines the history of hydrocarbon (i.e. oil and gas) exploration in Ghana and why a book focused on this sector is an important contribution to knowledge. The theoretical as well as methodological underpinnings (i.e. actor network theory, assemblage theorizing, and qualitative field research conducted between 2014 and 2016) of the book are also explained in this chapter. This chapter maps out the four tentacles of the “globalized assemblage” of the hydrocarbon industry, including its political, economic, social, and environmental components. Overall, the chapter considers the utility of this book in discussions of oil politics and governance in Ghana in particular and the resource curse theory as a whole.
