Fighting the Curse by Lifting the Curtain – How Effective is Transparency as an Instrument to Escape the Resource Trap?

Transparency is frequently invoked as a powerful recipe for countering a number of malfunctions in governance processes. In the context of the resource curse it has increasingly come to the fore as a key mechanism intended to counter corruption and promote developmentally oriented use of natural resources. This study scrutinizes the potential impact of transparency on the mechanisms and effects of corruption. A critical assessment of the currently most prominent policy project in this area, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, complements the theoretical discussion. I argue that the strong reliance on transparency is ineffective because its curbing effects on the resource curse presuppose a number of additional factors. These factors, however, closely coincide with good governance aspects the transparency instrument is supposed to generate in the first place