The Impact of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) on Governance of Natural Resources

My PhD project aims to explain the relationship between governance strategies and conflict prevention. On a theoretical level, the project not only examines the question of what determines peace but also delves into the issue of how particular governance policies target certain instability-inducing conditions and to what extent such governance can prevent conflict. The empirical part of the project analyzes strategies of managing a particular instability-inducing condition, resource richness. The research problem of this part of the study translates into a more specific question of to what extent governance of natural resources through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) can prevent conflict and foster economic growth, which is the ma in question of interest for the project in Norway. The EITI is a global governance initiative established in 2003 with the purpose of improving governance of resource revenues to foster economic development and prevent resource-related conflict. The work aims to investigate the role of the EITI in breaking these resource traps and thus facilitating economic growth and conflict prevention. With this project grant, I aspire to contribute to the chapters of my PhD in which I will analyze the effectiveness o f the EITI. The EITI Secretariat is based in Oslo, the primary reason for which I need to be in Norway to carry out the interviews with the EITI's Secretariat officials. Besides the need to carry out part of my fieldwork in Norway, I have a particular int erest in the stay at the International Peace Research Institute at Oslo (PRIO), the work of which is closely related to my research interests. For this reasons, I am applying for the YGGDRASIL grant which I believe will enable me to produce research yield ing concrete results with strong policy implications and foster collaboration between PRIO and MGSoG.