Natural Resource Scarcity and Adaptive States: The Desire for Individual Freedom Versus the Need for Governmental Control

This study examines states that have adapted to natural resource scarcity. The author builds a framework for analyzing selected case studies based on the social and economic factors scholars argue are necessary for states to adapt. In the cases studied, governments were the key agents in managing resource scarcity but they did not do it directly through policy or legislative efforts. Governments did, however, have an indirect but vital role in setting the social and economic conditions favorable for adaptation. Working in an environment with favorable conditions, individuals emerged with creative and innovative solutions that solved the states resource shortages. The final section of the study compares states that have adapted to resource scarcity to a modern state that is not adapting to pressures from its natural resources. The social and economic factors common to adaptive states are absent in the nonadaptive state. The state will likely continue to struggle with the management of its resources until steps are taken to address weaknesses in the underlying social and economic environment.