Has Kyrgyzstan suffered from a resource curse?

This article makes the case that Kyrgyzstan’s economic dependency on mining has given rise to a resource curse. Although mining rents in Kyrgyzstan have not reached the levels of some other developing countries, some of their effects in this country lead us to consider the occurrence of such a curse. One common thesis is that in a weak institutional context, elites in power will try to capture resource rents, including through corrupt channels. This rent appropriation by the ruler is often accompanied by autocratic tendencies, further deteriorating institutions. In addition to economic damage, these governance failures provoke civil frustration and severe political conflicts with excluded elites. Such outcomes, frequently defined as a ꞌpolitical resource curseꞌ, have been observed in Kyrgyzstan. The article concludes that mining has contributed little to Kyrgyzstan's socio-economic development and has disrupted the country's political life and governance while posing significant environmental risks.