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Past Events

OSI Forum: Poisoned Wells—The Dirty Politics of African Oil
Location: OSI-New York
Event Date(s): June 26, 2007
Speaker(s): Nicholas Shaxson
Multimedia:   AUDIO

Revenue Watch Institute hosted a book launch for Poisoned Wells: The Dirty Politics of African Oil with author Nicholas Shaxson. Poisoned Wells (Palgrave Macmillan) looks at the root causes of the paradox of poverty from plenty, and explores the mechanisms by which oil causes grave instabilities and corruption around the globe.

Nicholas Shaxson is the only journalist who has had access to the key players in African oil, and is willing to make the connections between the drama of the developing world, leading global corporations and governments. The result is an explosive story with dangerous, glamorous characters, which reveals the unsettling connections between poor and rich nations.

Immersing the reader in the complicated and conflicting worlds of Africa’s oil barons, Poisoned Wells exposes the international threats and hidden aspects of the world in which we live, but know little about. Through these personalities and their stories, and drawing on more than a decade of experience in these countries, Shaxson shows how the oil industry has helped advance a process of decay, conflict, tyranny, and rising poverty.

Julie McCarthy, deputy director of the Revenue Watch Institute, introduced the event.

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OSI Forum: Poisoned Wells—The Dirty Politics of African Oil
MP3 Streaming Audio
Listen to the forum in streaming mp3 audio format. Duration: 1 hour, 12 minutes.

Revenue Watch Institute, an OSI grantee, works to promote accountable management of oil, gas and mining revenues for the public good.  Revenue Watch Institute works with civil society, media, and policy-makers in resource-dependent countries to counter the effects of the "resource curse" and enhance public participation in these countries’ economic governance.

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