ABSTRACT
In deconstructing the top-down and technocratic manner in which resource curse theorizing occurs, this chapter explores the relevance of society and social interests to the concept. Here, we delve into social (i.e. local or grassroots) relations, community expectations, and perceptions of social (in)justice to understand the manifestations and outcomes of resource extraction. We examine the corporation as social stimuli, including its discourses of a “social licence to operate” and its practices of corporate social responsibility as an intrinsic part of the resource curse – contrary to mainstream theorizing. In so doing, we facilitate a nuanced and more relational perspective on oil-engendered development. The chapter further augments the argument that the political, economic, social, and environmental outcomes of resource extraction cannot be treated in isolation. For instance, at the local level, chiefs are deemed important figures of authority, but their actions are not isolated from those of other actors and structures of power that manifest in the social field. Appreciating these complex and multi-faceted relations is quintessential to a nuanced appreciation of the hydrocarbon economy and its outcomes.
