Recent economic and socio-political dynamics in the territories that form Equatorial Guinea are related, in different ways, to the extraction of hydrocarbons from its Exclusive Economic Zone since the mid-1990s. These transformations are strongly mediated by specific social groups, especially the family that has held power since 1968 and transnational oil companies, whose relationships are central to the exclusive political configuration in the country. The article analyses this particular form of extraversion of power as part of a broader history of the region, in which the role of the state's sovereignty as articulated during decolonization is shown to be instrumental in the allocation of rights and the political economy of oil today. The article also discusses the spaces that the new political economy of oil has opened for alternative transnational connections around the country.

The exploration and extraction of oil in the territorial sea of Equatorial Guinea and Chad's southern region of Doba have led to certain socio-economic and political dynamics among their populations. The literature developed around the concept of 'resource curse' is helpful in understanding how oil stimulates the governments' rentier behaviour and authoritarianism, as well as the countries' poverty and inequality. However, not all the similarities between the cases are explained by these approaches and some of the differences are relevant to understand the specific configuration of the curse in these countries. Only by taking into account historical trajectories, the particular strategies of local and non-local actors, and the international political economy in which oil is extracted and commercialised, can we properly analyse all these dynamics in their complexity.L'exploration et l'extraction du pétrole dans la mer territoriale de la Guinée équatoriale ainsi que dans la région de Doba au sud du Tchad ont donné naissance à certaines dynamiques socio-économiques et politiques au sein des populations de ces régions. La littérature qui s'est développée autour du concept de «malédiction des ressources» permet de mieux comprendre comment le pétrole renforce d'une part le comportement rentier et l'autoritarisme des gouvernements en question et d'autre part la pauvreté et les inégalités dans ces pays. Cependant, ces approches ne peuvent expliquer toutes les similitudes de cas, et certaines des différences aident à comprendre les rouages de la malédiction spécifiques à ces pays. Une analyse appropriée de ces dynamiques dans leur complexité exige de prendre en compte les trajectoires historiques, les stratégies particulières des acteurs locaux et non locaux, ainsi que le contexte économique et politique international dans lequel le pétrole est produit et commercialisé.

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En este artículo, se exploran los elementos condicionantes de las dinámicas económicas y políticas en torno a la extracción de hidrocarburos en dos países del golfo de Guinea: Ghana y GuineaEcuatorial. Para ello, atenderemos a las similitudes y diferencias entre ambos casos, a partir de los elementos teóricos señalados por el paradigma de la maldición de los recursos, perspectiva que utilizaremos de manera crítica. Las diferencias en relación con la importancia cuantitativa de los recursos petroleros respecto del total del ingreso nacional, el desarrollo regulatorio, la transparenciaen la gestión de las rentas petroleras y la calidad institucional son algunas de las divergencias más importantes. No obstante, estos casos también presentan importantes similitudes; por ejemplo, enrelación con el escaso rol que desempeña la especialización petrolera para favorecer la inserción regional, así como el gran reto de articular encadenamientos productivos entre la industria extractiva y el entramado empresarial local.

The discovery of oil in 2007 in Ghana came in a time when elections had shown the capacity to allow for alternation of two main political parties in government. The main objective of this article is to investigate the terms of the debates that have been developed in regard to the relation between natural resources and democracy in the country. Three main issues have been addressed: the capacity of democratic institutions to condition and configure the social and political effects of the oil industry in the country; the potential perverse effects of oil extraction on democratic institutions; and the role of international arena and actors in the constitution of the political economy of oil in Ghana.