Course: Pathways to Sustainability / 4. Resource Politics

4. Resource Politics

Resource politics – political contestations over access, use and control of resources – are central to policy debates on global development. Questions around ‘planetary boundaries’, climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals and the green economy have all animated discussions around sustainability, inequality and security.

At the same time, dominant perspectives on the relationships between people and nature are being challenged. Alternative pathways, centred on social, racial and gender justice, are being proposed that question trends towards commoditisation, privatisation and securitisation of resources.

Lecture: Amber Huff, Resource Politics

Watch Amber Huff’s lecture before exploring the readings and questions.

Questions

After you have watched the lecture, ask yourself the following questions:

What is meant by “planetary boundaries”? What are the advantages and what are the problems with the concept?
How do resource grabs lead to local level scarcities, increased inequalities and dispossession? Think of an example that you know about.
What are the processes of financialisation and securitisation that generate a new resource politics? Again, think of an example that you know about.

Essential reading

Fairhead, J., Leach, M. and Scoones, I. (2012)

Green grabbing: a new appropriation of nature? Journal of Peasant Studies 39 (2): 237-261

Braun, B. et al (2015)

Grounding the Anthropocene: sites, subjects, struggles in the Bakken oil fields. Antipode workshop report

Bluwstein, J. et al (2021)

Commentary: Underestimating the challenges of avoiding a ghastly future. Frontiers in Conservation Science, vol 2

Bradshaw, C.J.A. et al (2021)

Underestimating the challenges of avoiding a ghastly future. Frontiers in Conservation Science, vol 1

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