The growth of the extractive industry worldwide has greatly benefited from the deregulation of this economic sector in the countries where it proliferates. In order to attract foreign investment, states that host natural resource extraction projects often demonstrate “selective absence” (Szablowski 2007), entrusting the regulation of this industry to the laws of the market, voluntary codes of …
Not only does the extractive industry primarily affect indigenous territories (Laforce, et al., 2012), but it also generates revitalization or Indigenous identification movements in response to threats or benefits that actors associate with having natural resource extraction projects on their lands. Indigenous identities can thus be perceived as a strategic political tool for recognition of territorial, cultural or political …
Development of the extractive industries is at the core of a growing number of socio-environmental conflicts. Conflicts not only position “stakeholders” in natural resource extraction projects against each other – the companies that operate them, the governments that authorize them and the communities that host them – they also involve a range of political allies, economic partners, legal entities, and environmental phenomena. This results in complex disputes and …