7 - Conclusion: The Implications of Nationalization

Summary

This concluding chapter discusses the scholarly and policy implications of the book’s findings. Leaders that pursue predatory and opportunistic behavior are not as likely to fail as the conventional wisdom suggests; these leaders have little option to survive in power other than by seizing assets instead of building growth-enhancing institutions. This chapter then provides a policy roadmap to how extractive resources will be managed in the future for oil and for commodities that have thus far avoided nationalization. The examination of the possibility of future oil nationalizations in Lebanon and Guyana will be particularly relevant for states considering their ownership options in light of new discoveries. Rare-earth minerals and advanced materials involved in the production of renewable energy facilities and energy storage--namely cobalt, lithium, and palladium--have largely been produced by private firms. If and when the production of these materials is nationalized, it will have profound impacts not only on the leaders of producing countries, but also on the world that relies upon these resources to sustain the coming industrial revolution in clean energy.