CRG Resource Extraction in Africa

The extraction of resources (e.g. minerals, oil and gas) occupies a prominent role in Africa, both historically and in the present. It has been a key factor in regional political transformations, has facilitated the continent´s integration in the global economy, and is a major factor in social dynamics, ranging from fuelling war to peace building and economic growth, from exploitation and dispossession to employment opportunities and development promise. Over the last twenty years various resource booms have triggered new forms of governance, political strive, stakeholder engagements, investments in land and development policies. As such, extractive practices are an entry point to debates on, for example, the (re)writing of African political and economic histories, geopolitical processes, governance and sovereignty, neoliberalization of development policies, livelihood strategies, identity politics, land governance, gender issues, and environmental issues.

For researchers working on resource extraction in Africa, a major challenge concerns the need to collaborate across disciplines and fields of expertise: the world of resource extraction can best be understood if knowledge can be combined and the study of past and present extractive practices thus requires a bundling of expertise. This CRG serves to facilitate this.

The CRG Resource Extraction in Africa aims to:

• Establish comparative approaches to understanding extractive practices in different periods and social contexts in Africa
• Develop research foci that cross-cut different disciplines and fields of expertise
• Extend networks and collaborations of African studies scholars within AEGIS and beyond