Abstract

This article examines the characteristics of the resource-led development project in Azerbaijan, including the policies of the Azerbaijani government and their consequences. It makes three contributions to the literature on critical development studies. First, it fills an empirical lacuna by discussing the case of Azerbaijan. Second, it expands upon the criticisms of statist-developmentalist models raised in the literature by demonstrating how the patrimonial rent distribution strategy of the Azerbaijani government plundered resource rents through state-owned enterprises and government-connected private companies, and crippled education and healthcare through underfunding and commodification. Third, as part of an examination of the recent attempts of the Azerbaijani government to diversify the economy and move to the post-oil era, it sheds light on some of the economic development challenges faced by a unique case of a resource-rich country with a closing window of energy resources. The arguments are illustrated and supported from sources pertaining to the political and economic situation in Azerbaijan, the activities of the transnational oil corporations, and US and UK foreign policies in the Caspian Sea.

摘要

本文考察了阿塞拜疆资源型开发项目的特点，包括阿塞拜疆政府的政策及其后果。它对批判性发展研究的文献做出了三个贡献。首先，它通过讨论阿塞拜疆的案例填补了经验空白。其次，它通过展示阿塞拜疆政府的世袭租金分配策略如何通过国有企业和政府关联的私营公司掠夺资源租金，以及通过资金不足削弱教育和医疗保健，从而扩展了文献中对国家发展主义模型的批评和商品化。第三，作为对阿塞拜疆政府最近为实现经济多元化和迈向后石油时代所做尝试的研究的一部分，它阐明了一个资源丰富的国家能源资源窗口关闭所面临的一些经济发展挑战。这些论点得到了与阿塞拜疆政治和经济形势、跨国石油公司的活动以及美国和英国在里海的外交政策有关的来源的说明和支持。