Seminar: Minedrift i Tanzania: et indenrigs- eller udenrigspolitisk anliggende?

Time: Thursday, 7 April at 13 – 15 hours

Venue: Danish Institute for International Studies, Main Auditorium, ground floor, Strandgade 71, Christianshavn, 1401 Kbn K

Background

Time: Thursday, 7 April at 13 – 15 hours

Venue: Danish Institute for International Studies, Main Auditorium, ground floor, Strandgade 71, Christianshavn, 1401 Kbn K

Background

The rapid increase in direct foreign investment for large-scale commercial mining since the 1980s is spurring industry and public policy circles to consider the potential for resource-based sustainable development.

Historically, the turn of the 20th Century saw the establishment of the multinational corporations that now control the large-scale commercial mining industry worldwide. The demand for metals rose at the beginning of the century, making the minerals industry highly profitable.

As developing countries gained independence from colonial rule, the development of primary sector industries such as mining was considered unfavourable for economic growth – it would only lead to the so-called ‘resource curse’ or the ‘Dutch Disease’, eventually making the manufacturing sector less competitive.

Over the decades, priority has been given to secondary and tertiary sector activities as catalysts for economic development, but foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in the mining sector continue to increase to resource-rich developing countries. FDI initiatives connect three sets of players:

1) international organizations involved in investment promotion;
2) political and administrative leaders in host countries; and
3) executives and corporate managers of multinational corporations (MNCs).

Using the case of Tanzania’s gold mining industry, France Bourgouin examines the active role played by host countries in orchestrating and controlling FDI and reconsiders the implications of MNC involvement in resource-rich developing countries on growth and poverty reduction.

She identifies the political and economic actors involved in organizing FDI and analyzes the articulation of transnational economic power and political authority in Tanzania, drawing out the implications for the country’s economic development.

SPEAKERS
* France Bourgouin, Project Researcher, DIIS
* Ole Therkildsen, Senior Researcher, DIIS

PROGRAMME

12.30-13.00
Arrival and Coffee

13.00-14.00
The Politics of Large-Scale Mining in Tanzania: Between Domestic Policy and Global Economic Processes France Bourgouin, Project Researcher, DIIS

14.00-15.00
Open Discussion

Chair: Ole Therkildsen, Senior Researcher, DIIS

The seminar will be held in English.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use the online registration form.

And do so no later than Wednesday April 6 at 12.00 noon

Please await confirmation by e-mail from DIIS for participation.

Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), The Conference Section, Strandgade 56, 1401 Kbn K, tlf. 32 69 87 51, e-mail: [email protected] og web: www.diis.dk