S2 Ep2: Investigating the oil rush in Somalia

Conflict Zone from the LSE

Somalia is one of the world's poorest countries. It has suffered from a problem of persistent, intractable violence since the 1980s. But there is a new, optimistic atmosphere around Somalia development. All indications are the country has significant oil reserves. Amongst many intellectuals and the Somali elite, there is considerable excitement at this prospect. Is this Somalia's once in a lifetime opportunity to forge a new path to prosperity?
In this podcast, we critically review the efforts undertaken to date to start tapping this oil wealth. We identify a problem of a lack of regulation and ask whether, given the global turn underway to renewable energy sources, this is the wrong time for Somalia to develop an oil industry.
Featuring Adtiya Sarkar, a researcher with the World Peace Foundation, Tufts University, Joakim Gundel, who has undertaken research and advocacy on the oil rush in Somalia, Mohamed Husein Gaas, a researcher in International Development, and Nisar Majid, the LSE Conflict Research Programme manager for the Somalia research team.
Producers: Luke Cooper, Azaria Morgan
Sound editor: Ben Higgins Millner
Intro music: The Drama by Rafael Krux (used for education purposes under Creative Commons License).
This podcast series has been funded by the UK government’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) as part of the LSE Conflict Research Programme. The ideas expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the UK Government/FCDO.