Julia Lindau
January 29, 2013
GIS Assignment 2
1.
Although it is not one of the Arab states that experienced a “Spring” in the last two years,
Iraq is in a period of critical political transition. Baghdad is facing the largest protests
since the Arab Uprisings began, and local elections are approaching. The fact that each
Iraqi province can vote to create its own federal region speaks to the gravity of the
country’s current sectarian divisions. Simultaneously, the country’s oil production is
increasing; Iraq is now the third largest oil producer in the world after Saudi Arabia and
Russia, and has the world’s second largest proven oil reserves in the world after Saudi
Arabia.
“The resource curse” is a term that scholars use to describe countries whose economies
develop relying on revenue earned from one main natural resource, usually oil. I want to
see if symptoms associated with the curse, specifically worse economic indicators and
poor rule of law, apply on a micro level, between different communities in the country.
As such, I want to map oil structures, economic indicators, conflict areas, and
corruption/transparency indicators on the municipal level in Iraq (provided I can find the
necessary data).
2.
-Is the correlation with localized conflict in Iraq stronger with areas that are rich in oil or
with places where governance is weaker? Is there a relationship between all three factors?
-Do communities closer to oil fields or structures in Iraq tend to have higher or lower
economic indicators than other areas of the country and if there is a trend either way,
does this impact inter-communal conflict levels?
3
-Iraqi Oil Forum (http://www.iraqoilforum.com/?page_id=2) is a website that contains
information on every aspect related to oil in Iraq, from technical details about types of oil
transit and refinery, to foreign oil companies operating or interested in Iraq, to domestic
and regional geopolitics surrounding the issue. The site contains maps, articles and blogs,
translated press releases, and other pertinent information.
-The International Energy Agency published “Iraq Energy Outlook: World Energy
Outlook
Special
Report”
in
October
2012
(http://iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/WEO_2012_Iraq_Energy_Outloo
kFINAL.pdf). This publication not only contains wealth of clear, concise information on
the state of Iraq’s energy resources, it makes projections about future oil output, politics,
markets, and the socio-economic implications of having economic growth be based
primarily on oil. It raises concerns related specifically to “the resource curse”.
1
-“Barriers to Reconciliation in Iraq: Tensions between Sunnis, Shi’ites, and Kurds, and
the Role of External Powers” published by the Center for Strategic and International
Studies in 2010 is a comprehensive document that outlines various sources of conflict in
post-2003 Iraq, with an emphasis on ethno-sectarian divisions. The document contains
several references to specific places where tensions are high due to oil reserves. It also
has maps of oil fields, ethnic compositions, and other useful spatial data.
-The Revenue Watch Institute publishes information about transparency and corruption
as they relate to oil in Iraq (http://www.revenuewatch.org/countries/middle-east-andnorth-africa/iraq/transparency-snapshot). It discusses issues of corruption from the local
to the national levels, addresses the interests of government, individual, and businesses,
and has tabular data containing numbers on production, output, revenue, etc. of oil.
4.
-The International Energy Agency has maps with oil pipelines, fields, and refineries in
Iraq, as do several other open source websites.
-“Iraq Index: Tracking Variables of Reconstruction & Security in Post-Saddam Iraq”
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Centers/saban/iraq%20index/index20120200.pdf,
also a free source, contains detailed data about oil exports, security, and transparency, all
of which are themes related to my research questions. However, there is not much data
here on a municipal level.
2