Venezuela’s ‘Oil Curse’: Parallels from the Middle East
As the US takes on a mandate over Venezuela, the Middle East’s long shadow falls once more over fantasies of easy oil wealth. What the oil curse is and why it endures.
The digital zeitgeist of Turkey is perpetually haunted by the aphorism coğrafya kaderdir (geography is destiny). It is invoked with such frequency that it now colors a wide range of observations, from the ironies of a decimated rule of law and non-existent free speech to the idiosyncratic dietary preferences of Istanbul’s street cats, who seemingly prefer a tasty plate of kuru fasulye-pilav ( over any proper kibble.
This expression is typically deployed to emphasize that had a person, institution, or concept been nourished elsewhere, their trajectory would have been characterized by superior health, wealth, and opportunity. While the phrase has been somewhat diluted by the wry, cynical humor of Turkish social media, it remains firmly anchored in a national psyche where th…
