Political settlements and the governance of extractive industry: A comparative analysis of the longue duree in Africa and Latin America
This paper synthesises findings from research in Bolivia, Ghana, Peru and Zambia
Abstract
This paper synthesises findings from research in Bolivia, Ghana, Peru and Zambia. It asks:
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How does the nature of political settlements affect the governance of the mining and hydrocarbon sectors and the relationships between those sectors and patterns of social inclusion and exclusion?
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How do the circulation of ideas and the materiality of the resources affect this relationship?
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What is the role of transnational ideational, institutional and political economic factors?
The paper considers the relationships between political settlements and extractive industry since the late 19th century, particularly the last 3 decades. It concludes that the nature of settlements has had important implications for the relationships between resource-dependent economies and social inclusion, but far less effect on productive structure . The paper also concludes that the nature of the extractive economy influences the dynamics of national political settlelements.
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First, the potential rents from resource extraction, and the high cost of engaging in mining or hydrocarbon industries, create incentives for political exclusion.
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Second, colonial and post-colonial histories of resource extraction give political valence to ideas that have helped mobilise actors to change relations of power and institutional arrangements.
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Third, the materiality of subsoil resources has implications for subnational forms of holding power that can influence resource access and control.
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Finally, the global nature of mineral and hydrocarbon economies, combined with the materiality of resources, bring transnational and local political actors into the constitution of national political settlements. This creates a complex politics of scale surrounding settlements in resource-dependent economies.
This output is part of the Effective States and Inclusive Development Research Centre programme
Citation
Bebbington, A., Abdulai, A.-G., Hinfelaar, M., Humphreys Bebbington, D. and Sanborn, C. (2017) Political settlements and the governance of extractive industry: A comparative analysis of the longue durée in Africa and Latin America.. ESID Working Paper No. 81. Manchester, UK: The University of Manchester.
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