Bounty Is Curse – Sudan is another example of what happens to natural resource rich but politically mismanaged countries

Source: The post is based on the article “Bounty Is Curse – Sudan is another example of what happens to natural resource rich but politically mismanaged countries” published in The Times of India on 27th April 2023.

Syllabus: GS-2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.

Relevance: About Sudan Civil War.

News: Sudan Civil War has highlighted the growing concern about regional instability.

About the present issue in Sudan

About Operation Kaveri and Sudan evacuation

What are the concerns associated with the Sudan Civil War?

-If Sudan heads the Libya way, it will see another dangerous flood of weapons in the Horn of Africa region. Further, it will give a huge fillip to an assortment of armed groups, including ISIS and al-Qaida affiliates.

How Dutch disease led to Civil War in Sudan?

Note: Dutch Disease in economics refers to a phenomenon wherein a country witnesses uneven growth across sectors due to the discovery of natural resources. This is because the chronic dependence on the export of these natural resources hollows out other sectors of the economy.

Sudan Civil War is not just a straightforward power struggle between two branches of that country’s armed forces. It is also the expression of Dutch disease phenomenon, which is afflicting multiple countries in Africa and beyond.

After South Sudan’s secession in 2011, Sudan’s economy was severely undermined by the loss of oil revenue which constituted more than 50% of the Sudanese government’s revenues and 95% of its exports. Thus, Sudan remains one of the poorest countries in the world with its 46 million people living on an average annual income of $750 per capita.

Further, illegal extraction of natural resources by local warlords due to fragile governance-security structures is also there in Sudan,

What should be done to come out of the Civil War?

Overall, failure to manage natural resources can have deep economic and security implications. In such conditions, the nation needs to take steps to come out of it. Such as Kazakhstan’s National Fund which is financed by oil, gas and mineral revenues.