Contested Extractivism, Society and the State (eBook)

Bettina Engels is Junior Professor for Conflict and African Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Together with Kristina Dietz, she is head of the junior research group ‘Global Change – Local Conflicts?’. Her research focuses on conflict over land and resources, spatial and action theory, and resistance, urban protest, and social movements in Africa. Kristina Dietz is head of the junior research group ‘Global Change – Local Conflicts? conflicts over land in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa in the context of interdependent transformation processes’ at the Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Her research and teaching focus on political ecology, conflicts over land and resources in Latin America, climate and energy policy, spatial and democracy theory.

Preface and Acknowledgements 6
Contents 8
Notes on the Contributors 10
List of Figures 13
List of Tables 14
Contested Extractivism, Society and the State: An Introduction 15
Contentious Politics, Spatial Dimensions and the Political Ecology of Extractivism 19
The Relationship Between Society and State, State Spaces and Democracy 23
About the Book 25
References 29
Reimagining Extractivism: Insights from Spatial Theory 34
Introduction 34
What Is Extractivism? 37
Theorising the Spatiality of Extractivism 40
Pathways Towards Re-spatialising Extractivism 42
The Production of Extractive Spaces 43
Heterotopic Extractivism 46
Local States/Spaces of Exception 49
Conclusions 51
References 54
Beyond Curse and Blessing: Rentier Society in Venezuela 58
Introduction 58
Natural Resources, Rents and Development: An Overview of Scholarly Debates 59
Shortcomings of the Current Rentier and Resource Curse Debate 63
Beyond Curse and Blessing: Analytical Starting Points for a Deeper Understanding of Rentier Societies 65
A Crucial Case Study: Venezuela’s Rentier Society 67
The Distribution of Rent Income in Venezuela 68
Reclaiming the Rent: Oil and Venezuelan Society 71
Conclusions 75
References 77
Ghana – Big Man, Big Envelope, Finish: Chinese Corporate Exploitation in Small-Scale Mining 82
Introduction 82
Context: Gold Mining in Ghana 85
Shaanxi Mining (Ghana) Limited and Resource Conflict 87
‘Police Arrests (sic.) Assembly Member and 11 Others for Rioting’ 87
Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Upper East and the Arrival of SMGHL 88
Resistance and Conflict 91
State Response 94
Outcomes of Resource Conflict 97
Corporate Theft? 97
State Collusion 98
Opposition Failure 99
Local Community Fractured 100
Explaining Outcomes: Corruption, Informality and Neoliberalisation 101
Corruption 101
Informality 102
Neoliberal Resource Governance 103
State Reconstruction 105
Marketisation of Social Relations 106
Conclusion 107
References 110
Small-Scale Gold Mining and the State in the Philippines 113
Introduction 113
The Informal (Mining) Economy: A Sign of State Weakness? 115
Joint Extraction Regimes in Compostela Valley’s Underground Economy 117
Stability and Friction on the Upland Frontier 118
The Advancing Small-Scale Mining Frontier 119
The Emergence of a Barangay-Centred Regulatory Order 120
From Brokerage to Informal Formalisation 122
Coercion, Legitimacy, and Reciprocity in Joint Extraction Regimes 124
Mineral Resource Governance and Conflicting Processes of State Formation 127
Joint Extraction Regimes as a Product of Decentralised State-Building 127
The Expansion of Large-Scale Mining and the Destabilisation of the Mineral Frontier 128
Diwalwal, Monkayo Municipality 130
Pantukan 131
Conclusion 132
References 133
Politics of Scale and Struggles over Mining in Colombia 138
Introduction 138
Mining and the Politics of Scale 140
Participatory Citizenship and Spaces for Participation 142
Mining and Scalar (Re)configurations in Colombia 144
Mining Regulations and State Rescaling 145
Decentralisation, Democratisation and Recentralisation 147
Struggles over Mining, Scale and Participatory Citizenship: The Case of La Colosa 148
Multi-scalar Strategies and Alliances 149
Claiming Rights, Shaping and Linking Spaces Across Scales 151
Contesting Scalar Orders, Exerting Participatory Citizenship 153
Conclusion 154
References 156
Not All Glitter Is Gold: Mining Conflicts in Burkina Faso 160
Introduction 160
Repertoires of Contention and Political Opportunity Structures 162
Place and Scale 163
Methodology 164
Gold Mining in Burkina Faso 166
Industrial and Artisanal Mining 167
Societal Reactions and Collective Activities 169
Spontaneous Confrontations at the Scale of the Mines 169
Social Movement Organisations at the National Scale 171
Repertoires of Contention 173
Window of Opportunity: The Fall of Blaise Compaoré 174
Conclusion 176
References 177
Peasant Movements in Argentina and Brazil 181
Introduction 181
Contentious Politics: Opportunities and Threats 184
The Political Economy of the ‘Pink Wave’: Commodity Exports for Poverty Reduction 185
Peasant Movements in Argentina: Fighting Two Fronts 187
The Defensive Front: Violence and Criminalisation 187
The Offensive Front 190
Peasant Movements and a ‘Government of Compromise’ in Brazil 193
Criminalisation and Violence 194
Political Opportunities for Whom? 195
Social Conformism 198
Conclusion 200
References 202
Oil Palm Expansion and Peasant Environmental Justice Struggles in Colombia 206
Introduction 206
Conceptual Framework 207
Materials and Methods 210
Expansion of Oil Palm Cultivation and Three Cases of Land Access Struggles in Colombia 212
Land, Territory and Environmental Justice 220
Conclusions 224
References 224
Contested Market-Driven Land Reform in Malawi 228
Introduction 228
The Experience of the Community Based Rural Land Development Project 230
Returnees of the CBRLDP: Drivers and Implications 234
‘Going Back Home’: Social Exclusion and New Land Conflicts 239
Contemporary Market-Driven Land Reforms 244
Conclusion 247
References 248
Contesting Extractivism: Conceptual, Theoretical and Normative Reflections 252
Introduction 252
Contestation over Extractivism: Conceptual Reflections 253
Contesting Extractivism and Democracy: Theoretical Reflections 257
The Critique of Extractivism and Its Critical Study: Normative Reflections 260
References 262
Index 265