Description
Book SynopsisSmith deciphers the paradox of the resource curse and questions its inevitability through an innovative comparison of the experiences of Iran and Indonesia.
Trade Review"Benjamin Smith has raised the costs for anyone hoping to tell us something new and significant about the role of oil in political development. With Hard Times in the Lands of Plenty he has all but cornered the market."-Robert Vitalis, University of Pennsylvania, author of America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier "Hard Times in the Lands of Plenty is thoughtful, provocative, and innovative. It is a richly textured exploration of political development in oil-exporting Iran and Indonesia. Employing a methodology that is both multilayered and eclectic, Ben Smith challenges the commonplace notion-and implicit suggestion of the 'rentier state' literature-that oil states are intrinsically unstable and prone to breakdown. He demonstrates that political outcomes are determined 'not by oil, but when oil' and highlights the challenges presented by different institutional landscapes at the inception of oil-based development."-Miriam R. Lowi, The College of New Jersey "The fascinating Hard Times in the Lands of Plenty is characterized by bold ambition and real insight; Benjamin Smith admirably weaves together a variety of methods to produce a book that is truly comparative in scope. Smith highlights a key insight for those interested in the politics of oil, namely that timing matters."-Eva Bellin, Hunter College
