Academic Requests : Djibouti North Somalia

[Abu-Salman]

- Does someone have access to or direct me to a detailed North-West Somalia/ "Somaliland" Map, featuring for instance roads or topographical elements relevant for land-based travel (like the map used by NGOs)?

 

Last time, it seems there was only one available, belonging to a Djibouti-based businessman.

 

 

- By the same token, as requested by Amoud university, we would highly appreciate any geological book about that same area (though it could cover East Africa or Somalia as a whole, of course).

 

 

-Finally, any access to this timely and original work cited just below?

 

Djibouti's Unusual Resource Curse

Jennifer N. Brass

University of California Berkeley - Department of Political Science, 2008

 

Abstract:

An extensive literature has developed around the "resource curse," positing that abundant natural resources "curse" countries possessing them, leading to negative economic, social and political externalities. Traditionally, scholars identify tangible extracted resources like oil, diamonds or timber. Rarely, however, do we question whether other resources might have the same impact, and under what conditions. I address this lacuna, examining how little-studied Djibouti's non-tangible resources - geo-strategic location and aid-inspiring poverty - have produced resource curse effects. With an economy dominated by inflows from US and French military bases (and concomitant aid monies) as well as rents on trade passing to and from Ethiopia, tiny Djibouti suffers deeply from this ailment. Four important lessons can be drawn from this case study: First, resource curse effects can derive from non-traditional resources. Second, leaders' policy decisions matter at least as much as the mere presence of a resource. Third, spending patterns of advanced countries in their less-developed allies often produce unintended consequences. Finally, even tiny countries with miniscule populations can provide scholars and policymakers with greater understanding.

 

Keywords: Djibouti, resource curse, political economy, Africa

 

Working Paper Series

Date posted: May 02, 2008 ; Last revised: January 31, 2009

 

Suggested Citation:

Brass, Jennifer N.,Djibouti's Unusual Resource Curse(2008). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abst ract=1127462

 

 

PS: we could reciprocate in any other reasonable or relevant way ( those interested in Djibouti or Somaliland etc)...