DIIS seminar: Investeringer i Afrikas naturressourcer

TID: Tirsdag d. 22. oktober kl. 14.00-15.30

STED: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), Main Auditorium, Østbanegade 117, ground floor, 2100 København Ø.

Natural Resource Investments in Africa: Oil, Aid and Governance in Mozambique and Angola

TID: Tirsdag d. 22. oktober kl. 14.00-15.30

STED: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), Main Auditorium, Østbanegade 117, ground floor, 2100 København Ø.

Natural Resource Investments in Africa: Oil, Aid and Governance in Mozambique and Angola

DIIS has launched a new seminar series: The Political Economy of Natural Resource Investments in Africa, focusing on the renewed attention to natural resources in Africa. In the first seminar, Helena Pérez Niño from the Department of Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, presents a paper written by her and Philippe Le Billon from the University of British Columbia, which compares the governance and development trajectories of Mozambique and Angola.

The seminar series on the Political Economy of Natural Resource Investments will explore the impact of natural resources on economics, politics, development, foreign aid, conflict, and geopolitics in Africa.

On the back of over a decade of sustained high-level global demand for commodities, there has been a dramatic surge of foreign investment in extractive industries on the continent. OECD-countries and emerging powers, such as China, India, and Brazil, are exploiting African oil, gas, minerals, and engaging in agri-business through large-scale land acquisitions.

The seminars seek to highlight the global-local dimension of natural resource extraction and governance in Africa. They also consider how new resource-rich countries, particularly in East Africa, can harness this wealth towards broad economic development and poverty reduction to avoid the negative economic and political consequences of the “resource curse” experienced elsewhere on the continent.

In the first seminar, Helena Pérez Niño questions the so-called Mozambican miracle and contrasts it with Angola’s trajectory over the past two decades. Sharing similar colonial and civil war experiences, the development of Mozambique and Angola is often compared. She suggests that large aid flows have contributed to a relative relaxation of the Mozambican government’s efforts to create financial structures capable of capturing revenues from natural resources.

In contrast, the comparative absence of aid has led Angolan elites to seek tenure prolongation, partly through high rent capture and socialization of massive oil rents. What are the likely consequences of these factors in terms of the relative “fragility” and “robustness” of both states?

The seminar will be held in English.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required.

Get more info and sign up here: http://en.diis.dk/home/seminars/2013/natural+resource+investments+in+africa-c3-+oil,+aid+and+governance+in+mozambique+and+angola no later than Monday, 21 October 2013 at 12.00 noon.

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