Does the EITI work? An assessment of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives' successes and failures Illustrated through a local assessment of Ghana
Author
Myroldhaug, Sondre
Term
4. term
Publication year
2018
Submitted on
2018-05-31
Pages
88
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, om Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) faktisk virker i praksis. Med udgangspunkt i transnationale åbenhedsstandarder som midler mod “ressourceforbandelsen” analyserer studiet EITI’s globale mekanismer og deres oversættelse til lokale resultater. Metodisk gennemføres en kritisk analyse af EITI’s udformning og præstation ved hjælp af modeller for transparens’ effekt i ressource‑rige lande samt begreber om input/output‑legitimitet og effektivitet, illustreret gennem et detaljeret casestudie af Ghana, et EITI‑kompatibelt land. Specialet gennemgår EITI’s tilblivelse, struktur og krav og vurderer, hvordan kollektive beslutninger træffes og omsættes i praksis, herunder betydningen for indtægtsforvaltning, korruptionsbekæmpelse og civilsamfundets deltagelse. Analysen finder, at EITI har haft succes som multistakeholder‑normsætter ved at tiltrække centrale aktører og forme forventninger i råstofsektoren. Samtidig rejser en begrænset mandatramme, fravær af håndhævelsesmekanismer, frivillig karakter, afhængighed af udenlandske investeringer, uklare intentioner og vanskeligheder med at engagere civilsamfundet tvivl om EITI’s operationelle effektivitet og legitimitet. Disse spændinger viser sig også i Ghana, hvor oversættelsen fra institutionelle forpligtelser til lokale resultater er ujævn. Da EITI er relativt ung, undlader specialet endelige domme, men konkluderer, at varig effekt forudsætter stærkere ansvarlighed og lokal forankring ud over åbenhed alene.
This thesis asks whether the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) works in practice. Framing transnational disclosure standards as tools against the “resource curse,” it examines EITI’s global mechanisms and how they translate into local outcomes. Methodologically, it conducts a critical analysis of EITI’s design and performance using models of transparency’s impact in resource‑rich countries and concepts of input/output legitimacy and efficiency, illustrated through a detailed case study of Ghana, an EITI‑compliant country. The study reviews EITI’s origins, governance structure, and requirements, and assesses how collective decisions are reached and implemented, including implications for revenue management, anticorruption, and civil society participation. The analysis finds that EITI has succeeded as a multi‑stakeholder norm‑setter by attracting key actors and shaping expectations in the extractive sector. However, a limited mandate, lack of enforcement, voluntary character, reliance on foreign investment signals, ambiguous intentions, and difficulties engaging civil society raise doubts about operational effectiveness and legitimacy. These tensions appear in Ghana as well, where translation from institutional commitments to local results is uneven. Given EITI’s relative youth, the thesis avoids definitive judgments but concludes that meaningful impact depends on stronger accountability and local engagement beyond disclosure alone.
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