Resource Nationalism and Energy Policy

Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program, Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University:
A must-read book for those interested in the determinants of oil policy in Latin America. Mares makes significant contributions to the literature on resource nationalism, showing how not only structural factors but also the inclusiveness and competitiveness of the political system shape energy policy. The in-depth case study of Venezuela constitutes by itself a major contribution, but the book’s lessons travel widely.

Victor Menaldo, author of The Institutions Curse: Natural Resources, Politics and Development:
Latin American oil and natural gas policies are highly divergent across the countries in this region; they also change considerably over time. Consider Venezuela’s disastrous depredation of its once thriving hydrocarbon industry versus Brazil’s more steady hand. What accounts for these differences? In this sweeping, interesting book, David Mares challenges conventional wisdom, which argues that either geology, markets, or ideology explain this variation. Instead, he identifies three main causes: the political system’s inclusiveness, how competitive the policymaking body is and, in a breath of fresh air, individual leaders’ traits. Mares also looks at the effects of these policies on whether they promote the stewardship of the natural resource sector and development broadly. To do so, he takes history and fine-grained knowledge of these countries' resources, governments, and societies seriously. This book is a revelation and a must read for political scientists, economists, academics working in business school, policymakers, and anybody who wants to learn about the checkered but fascinating history and political economy of Latin American hydrocarbons.

Amy Myers Jaffe, author of Energy's Digital Future: Harnessing Innovation for American Resilience and National Security:
Control of national hydrocarbon sectors, though often chronicled from an economic or legal point of view, is a highly political phenomenon. Political scientist David Mares unpacks the underlying drivers that influenced resource development and oil wealth in Latin America. His innovative methodological framework goes beyond simplistic explanations linked to the rhetoric about populism to offer extraordinary insights into the complex variables that influence who benefits from oil and who does not in societies like Venezuela. A must read for policy makers, students and scholars seeking to understand how oil alters political landscapes, often with negative consequences for the very citizens who should benefit most from this national patrimony.

William Ascher, author of Why Governments Waste Natural Resources: Policy Failures in Developing Countries:
David R. Mares offers a remarkably useful analysis of the challenges of harnessing energy exports for sustainable development and the political dynamics that greatly complicate these challenges. His holistic political-economy approach integrates a comprehensive analytic map of political systems with in-depth understanding of the extraordinarily complicated case of Venezuela while also accounting for nationalization and privatization across Latin America.