The Politics of Governing the Liquefied Natural Gas Industry in Mozambique, 2009-2020

Abstract

The governance of natural resources industries in Africa has involved multiple types and numbers of actors, having different ideas, interests and preferences about policies and institutions. To explain how resource-rich developing countries in Africa have been able to engage a wide range of internal and external political forces and manage policies in ways that can sometimes maintain their preferred governance arrangements in spite of uncertain industry conditions, this thesis aims to shed light on the actual bargaining process in which the government and key stakeholders bargain to optimise their ideas and interests in the governance process. Based on a single detailed case study of Mozambique’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, the thesis employs institutional bargaining theory to explore how complex bargaining dynamics between the Mozambican government and key stakeholders at the early phase of the LNG development have shaped governance policies and institutions. The thesis applies this theory to analyse the three different institutional bargaining dynamics in which the relationship between the Frelimo ruling elites and key stakeholders – particularly domestic opposition parties, budget support donors, foreign investors and local populations – has been embedded. In doing so, it argues that the ruling elites became engaged in a political process supporting their political resilience by stabilising the existing form of bargaining relationships with the key stakeholders while liberalising the governance of the LNG industry.

Date of Award	1 Oct 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	King's College London
Supervisor	Ramon Pacheco Pardo (Supervisor) & Keun-Wook Paik (Supervisor)