I have a nation, Arunya, which functions under different magical rules from the rest of the world. The entity governing their magic is much more closely tied to the state due to historical factors, the relatively smaller size, and greater ease of control over critical points. Said entity also provides them with a form of extremely powerful mineral wealth - the power of their dead ancestors' souls condensed into crystalline form. Said crystals shatter easily and are mostly inert but respond to a form of runic language that is tightly controlled by the clerical classes. These crystals; however, are compatible with other forms of magic and can be brought away from the providing entity's area of control.
Let's say by resource curse I'm using the definition where the presence of an extremely valuable natural resource in a geographic region causes economic and political weakness due to overreliance on and overconfidence in the resource for state and individual revenues, creating authoritarianism and economic underdevelopment. Let's also assume that, under strict economic controls and with a population of 20 to 30 million during the early modern period, the crystals are capable of replenishing to support a robust military apparatus.
To counteract resource curse, there exists a strong sociocultural taboo against the wanton export of these crystals partly because it's tantamount to selling your ancestors souls for money, and also because unsustainable export-level intensity extraction practices drain the supply much more quickly than it can be replenished by deaths on the island nation. Furthermore, the people of this nation have had several centuries to work out functional economic relationships. Recently, extraction of the resources has come under the sole control of the imperial clergy-government after previously being held in fief by the nobility. Some export of the goods are allowed under the aegis of the government, and smuggling is generally punished harshly. Sale on the domestic market is generally handled by the central government though I still haven't worked out the economics.
I'm not sure if this all is enough; however, to avert the resource curse. Specifically, my goals with this system are to:
- Allow the crystals to be used in the mass manufacture of energy weapons (guns propelled by exploding crystals) or the powering of specially-designed engines. This is to allow the creation of a bourgeois industrialist class in cities built over or near the mines while also simulating the effect of guns on individualism and authoritarianism,
- Create a monopoly that the central imperial government uses to control all levels of society while,
- Leaving room for a semblance of liberal democracy to develop healthily (as healthy as the French Revolution can be) without overly heavy influence from the mining class and also creating a healthy and diversified economy.
That said, are the safeguards I've introduced above sufficient for my conditions? What are the effects of resource curse that I'll inevitably have to deal with, and what effects might I safely be able to avoid with mild adjustment?
