“If there is wealth under the ground, there is often blood on top.”
Human history is full of countless examples of this reality.
Gold, oil, natural gas, rare minerals... In theory, these should be a country's wealth. But in practice, it often turns out the opposite. Because underground wealth whets the appetite not only of that country but also of the world. And when the appetite is whetted, concepts such as justice, law and peace are often the first things to be abandoned.
The Middle East is the most striking example of this. After the discovery of oil, the region became not only an energy hub, but also a geography of coups, wars, proxy conflicts and endless crises. A Middle East without oil would probably be a much calmer place today.
A similar situation was observed in the Caucasus. Energy lines, strategic transit corridors and minerals have suddenly brought small geographies to the center of global power competition. From that point on, even local problems become part of the international chessboard.
This is sometimes referred to in the literature as the “resource curse”. That is, when natural wealth, if not managed well, can destabilize a country instead of enriching it. This is because as wealth grows, so does the struggle for its ownership.
A look at history sometimes reveals this bitter irony:
Some countries are not at peace not because they are poor but because they are too rich.
Perhaps that is why the bitter truth of world politics is hidden in this sentence:
As the wealth under the ground increases, the value of the peace above the ground decreases.