Natural Resources and the Tipping Points of Political Power—A Research Agenda

Abstract

A general assumption concerning the relationship between natural recourses and politics is that the degradation of natural resources will destabilize political regimes causing civil wars, mass migration, or the erosion of democratic systems. Despite individual attempts to explore the relationship between different political regimes and various resources in more detail, a systematic explanation of the complex relationship between natural resources and political regimes is still lacking. In this paper, we suggest a research agenda in order to better understand their interconnectedness. We start by exploring the respective potentials of Earth system science (ESS) and the logic of Earth spheres. We argue that the notion of distinct Earth spheres has its merits but also significant disadvantages. We then propose to concentrate on a resource perspective as the more expedient starting point for investigating the nature of the interconnection between the ecosphere and humans. We refine our argument by suggesting to also reflect on the socioeconomic properties of natural resources in order to estimate their implications for political regime stability. Finally, this paper proposes three different political regime types and how each organizes its relationship vis-a-vis natural resources, especially regarding sustainable resource use.