Question Set for Ch 6 of Hot, Flat and Crowded: Filler ‘er up with Dictators. P. 126-138

1. What is Friedman’s First Law of Petropolitics?

2. Be sure that you understand his graph on p. 129.

3. Norway’s leading export is petroleum. Why doesn’t Friedman call it a “petrolist state”?

4. Note how Bahrain’s reform movement was slowed when the price of oil surged to $100/barrel.

5. How does “Dutch disease” differ from the “resource curse”?

6. According to Ross, what are the mechanisms by which oil wealth undermines democracy in petrolist states?

7. In a later paper Ross explained why women are repressed and marginalized in petrolist states. Summarize his explanation.

8. Be sure you understand how foreign aid during the Cold War undermined economic and democratic development in a manner similar to oil revenues.

9. Why do some residents of petrolist states choose to leave them?

10. What does the Russian politician mean when he says, “The question for you Americans is: When will prices go down? It is the only hope for us Russian democrats”?