I was wondering if Land locked countries are destined to have their economies locked to their bigger neighbor. The lack of immediate access to seaports and the reliance of a stable neighbor for transportation needs is one factor that hinders its economy.. but there seem to have been some countries that seem to do well.
Austria, Switzerland, and Litchenstein all are land locked countries with limited natural resources and seem to do better than land locked countries such as Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Laos which tend to have more natural resources (or at least Mongolia). Apart from the 3 European land locked countries, it seems that the rest of the world’s land locked nations tend not to do well. And those that do, rely heavily on a bigger neighbor..
any thoughts?
By: Flood - 25th July 2004 at 00:35
Might, of course, depend on rivers too.
Rhodesia was reliant on blockade breakers for many things, but prospered due to its agricultural success in being able to feed its people and supply to others. Zimbabwe was not blockaded but decimated its agricultural heritage and is trying to fool the world that it is not on the verge of a criminal famine in a (more or less) self-sufficient land.
Other African countries have been overshadowed by their bigger neighbours – whether land-locked or not.
Flood.™
By: WACHENR0DER - 25th July 2004 at 00:07
Thanks Geforce.. so essentially a land lock’s country few (if not only) chance of prosperity lies in the cooperation of bordering nations that are also doing economically well.
So other wise landlocked countries bordering few economically successful states would be serously challenged?
By: Geforce - 24th July 2004 at 22:03
Having acces to the sea most certainly is important. No better example than Iraq or why Saddam invaded Kuwait some years ago. Another case is the USSR. OK, the USSR was not exactly landlocked, but it was not able to have access to the sea: Germans in the Baltic Sea, Turks in the Black Sea and the Pacific was not an option before the Transsib. So the Czar (Alexander III) decided to form a new Norhern fleet on the Kola Peninsula and this was probably one of the main reasons the USSR has always been a threat, first to the Germans, later to NATO. As economy and politics are always related, this might be an explanation.
Some landlocked nations are amongst the richest: Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg. This is because these nations cooperate with their neighbours (through the EU), if they don’t, they most likely end in Mongolia-like situations. Cutting off access to the sea could destroy a country’s economy. The Dutch did it centuries ago blocking the port of Antwerp which eventually led to the ‘Belgians’ taking up arms with their own occupiers (the Spanish) to fight this blockade. This shows how important such an access may be.
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July 24, 2004 at 9:52 pm