An Arctic development strategy? The North Slope Inupiat and the resource curse

ABSTRACTAlaska’s North Slope region has been seen as an exception to the resource curse. Observers of the first 20 years of oil development have viewed its effects as positive for the local Indigenous communities. Yet the recent decline of North Slope oil production and the collapse of oil prices threaten the local government’s major revenue source. Taking a long-term perspective, this article asks if the strategic choices made by North Slope institutions provide some hope of avoiding the resource curse.