Power Grab
Political Survival through Extractive Resource Nationalization

Explores how dictators maintain their grip on power by seizing control of oil, metals, and minerals production.

Paasha Mahdavi (Author)

9781108748681, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 24 March 2022

276 pages, 29 b/w illus. 16 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.418 kg

'Challenging conventional understandings of resource nationalization as the domain of strong rulers whose tenures are secure, Paasha Mahdavi carefully maps out and then demonstrates how much nationalization is in fact a strategy borne of political insecurity. Power Grab deftly weaves cross-national econometrics and carefully crafted comparative historical analysis to show how. Mahdavi's analysis of the domestic and global-economic milieu in which leaders like Qaddafi gambled on, and won through, resource seizures, represents an ambitious and formidable new scholarly voice in the study of resource politics.' Benjamin Smith, University of Florida

For rulers whose territories are blessed with extractive resources - such as petroleum, metals, and minerals that will power the clean energy transition - converting natural wealth into fiscal wealth is key. Squandering the opportunity to secure these revenues will guarantee short tenures, while capitalizing on windfalls and managing the resulting wealth will fortify the foundations of enduring rule. This book argues that leaders nationalize extractive resources to extend the duration of their power. By taking control of the means of production and establishing state-owned enterprises, leaders capture revenues that might otherwise flow to private firms, and use this increased capital to secure political support. Using a combination of case studies and cross-national statistical analysis with novel techniques, Mahdavi sketches the contours of a crucial political gamble: nationalize and reap immediate gains while risking future prosperity, or maintain private operations, thereby passing on revenue windfalls but securing long-term fiscal streams.

1. The puzzle of extractive resource nationalization
2. The theory of political survival through nationalization
3. Defining and measuring operational nationalization
4. Why nationalize? Evidence from national oil companies around the world
5. NOCs, oil revenues, and leadership survival
6. The dynamics of nationalization in Pahlavi Iran
7. Conclusion: the implications of nationalization.

Subject Areas: Political economy [KCP], Environmental economics [KCN], Politics & government [JP]