| The turn of the millennium has brought profound change in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, creating a new moment for the extraction of oil. In Angola and Nigeria, the region's two major oil producers, there has been considerable economic growth that is expected to continue for several more years. This new moment opens new possibilities for state-led economic and social development and capitalist transformation. Focusing on the promotion of "local content" in the oil industries of Angola and Nigeria and the changing accumulation strategies of the domestic elite, it is argued that a new form of developmental state---the "petro-developmental state"---may now be emerging in the Gulf of Guinea, allowing states to capitalize on a resource that has traditionally thought of as a "curse". Interviews and case studies of indigenous oil companies are used to ask whether local content policies will fuel not only short-term economic growth, but long-term and sustainable social development that reaches a majority of citizens, including the inhabitants of the communities that host oil extraction. While the petro-developmental state may be initiated by state actors and local elites following their own self-interest in a structurally new and different historical conjuncture, ultimately whether development or underdevelopment results from the transformation will depend not only on historical conditions, but also on power relations and struggles on the terrain of civil society. |
