During the peak period of decolonization (1950s and 1960s), reformist leaders in much of the ‘Third World’ tried to develop their new...

Decolonization was a messy business, and the fate of newly-independent countries was often left in the hands of former colonialists or, as was often the case during the Cold War, of one of the two global superpowers and their respective allies/satellites. While independence, therefore, was certainly welcomed by indigenous ethnic groups, as the opportunity to impose total control over natural resources coveted by the industrialized countries of Europe was irresistible, the chaos that usually accompanied the process of decolonization served to minimize those opportunities. When European colonial powers withdrew, they left behind established systems of exploitation of natural resources but little or no knowledge and training in how to maintain those systems over time. The engineers and scientists essential for locating, mining, processing, and exporting for revenue such natural resources as oil, precious metals and diamonds departed with the military and political structures that had maintained colonial holdings for many decades. 

One of the more infamous examples of the travails experienced by former colonies-turned-independent nations is Angola. Occupied by Portugal for over 100 years, the end of Portuguese colonialization and the independence of Angola (and Mozambique) resulted in a total vacuum into which emerged competing guerrilla armies backed respectively by the Soviet Union and its Cuban ally on one side and the United States on the other. Angola was, and remains, an oil-rich country. When the Portuguese withdrew, they did nothing to prepare the indigenous population (divided along tribal lines) for independence. The country's vast oil reserves had been developed and controlled by Portugal, with the operation of the oil sector eventually contracted out to Western oil companies. With independence, the Angolans were left with no knowledge-of or training-in how to operate its petroleum industry, so it remained dependent upon outside countries and companies to maintain that industrial infrastructure.

Another classic example of decolonization, nationalization of resources, and the problems that followed involved Iran. Iranian independence was accompanied by a decline in its extremely large oil sector as British government officials resisted the newly-elected independent government of Mohammad Mossadegh's decision to nationalize the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. The withdrawal of British engineers and administrators and British efforts at isolating through a form of sanctions the newly-established independent Iranian oil sector created economic hardships for the Iranian government, which was, and remains, heavily dependent upon oil (and natural gas) exports.

The main challenges faced by newly-independent, resource-rich nations were the lack of educated, trained technicians required to operate complex infrastructures, and the resistance among former colonial powers to provide that assistance without unwelcome strings being attached, such as favorable conditions for the former colonial power.