Geopolitical Issues of Natural Resource Extraction: Implications for Sustainable Development

Natural resource extraction remains one of the most politically consequential and environmentally contentious activities of the twenty-first century. It promises fiscal revenues, foreign exchange, employment, and industrial linkages, yet simultaneously fuels conflict, corruption, ecological degradation, and geopolitical rivalry. This paper narrows its scope to provide a more focused and comparative analysis of how governance quality, institutional design, and global power structures shape the political economy of extraction. Rather than treating cases broadly, it emphasizes three interlinked theoretical frameworks—the resource curse, the rentier state, and political ecology—and evaluates how they converge and diverge in explaining developmental outcomes. The study also develops the emerging ideas of the “green resource curse,” highlighting new dependencies created by renewable energy minerals, and “post-extractivism,” describing governance models that prioritize ecological sustainability and social equity. Country cases including Norway, Nigeria, Chile, the DRC, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia are thematically analyzed through governance, environmental, and geopolitical dimensions, with figures explicitly linked to the discussion. The findings underscore that institutional integrity, participatory governance, and transparent fiscal management determine whether resources become a curse or catalyst for transformation. The paper concludes by outlining its limitations and highlighting its original contribution: bridging classic resource theories with contemporary green-transition politics and post-extractive development debates.