Maria-Therese Gustafsson

New mechanisms of participation in extractive governance: between technologies of governance and resistance work

Abstract In this special issue, the focus is on the dynamics and use of participatory mechanisms related to the rapid expansion of the extractive industries worldwide and the ways it increasingly affects sensitive natural environments populated by indigenous and other marginalised populations. We offer an empirically grounded and theoretically innovative comparative analysis of practices that aim to enhance participation, negotiation and influence as a response to the expansion of extractive industries. On the one hand, we question the assumption often presented in scholarly debates that participatory processes will contribute to making environmental governance not only more legitimate and effective, but will also lead to the empowerment of marginalised social groups. On the other, we draw on our empirical studies and insights to indicate ways local groups and their allies try to gain ownership and influence decision-making through a range of related participatory mechanisms, ranging from state-led or corporation-led processes like prior consultation and FPIC, compensation practices, participatory planning exercises and the participation in environmental impact assessments (EIAs) to community-led consultations, or community-based or controlled FPIC and impact assessment processes and struggles for community-based governance of natural resource uses.

The struggles surrounding ecological and economic zoning in Peru

Abstract In the context of a growing number of socio-environmental conflicts, different actors emphasise that territorial planning promises to strengthen democratic participation, reduce conflicts, and enable the coexistence of mining with other economic activities. As there are few studies on these processes, this article contributes by asking: To what extent do ecological and economic zoning and related territorial planning (ZEE-OT) open up a decentralised political space for influencing territorial development? Based on interviews and written documents, the article shows that without a basic agreement regarding the purpose and decision-making structures of ZEE-OT, these processes are unlikely to reinforce more democratic forms of territorial governance.

Peasant Mobilization and the Expansion of Mining in Peru

This chapter situates contemporary corporate-community relations in the broader context of a shift from a state-led to a market-oriented development model. The first section is devoted to a historical background of state-society relations in Peru and other Andean countries, with a particular focus on the uneven and scattered presence of the state and the evolution of rural mobilization. The second section presents an overview of the regulation of extractive industries in Peru as well as in other countries heavily dependent on mining. Overall, this chapter shows that, in areas where state institutions are weak, private power dynamics dominate and could play an important role in shaping mobilization processes and scope for influence.

Demands for Rights and Confrontations in the Rio Blanco Project

This chapter is devoted to the patterns and causes of corporate-community relations in the Rio Blanco case. In this case corporate-community relations are primarily characterized by confrontation. The first section shows how relatively strong peasant organizations emerged as a consequence of the contestations with the state over territorial control. The second and the third sections analyze the initial interactions with the corporation, demonstrating how the corporation employed a coercive form of patronage to advance the project. Peasant organizations responded forcefully to these strategies. Overall, the chapter shows the importance of broader political coalitions and non-state actors for communities to be able to engage in a sustained struggle opposing a project.

Demands for Services and Demobilization in the Bambas Project

This chapter is devoted to the patterns and causes of corporate-community relations in the Bambas case. The first section analyzes the historical evolution of peasant mobilization in the area. The second and the third sections analyze the initial interactions with the corporation, as well as how state institutions intervened in this phase. Overall, the chapter illustrates the efforts by previously fragmented communities to organize and explains how they were finally demobilized. Moreover, it also shows how central state institutions increased the communities’ dependency on the corporation and shaped community mobilization and scope for influence.

Struggles to Open Up New Political Spaces to Control Natural Resources

This chapter examines the escalation of the conflict in the Rio Blanco case, from 2004 to 2007. The first two sections analyze how corporate-community relations have created divisions but also gave communities incentives to scale up their organizational structures to the regional level. The third section analyzes how peasant organizations, through coalitions with subnational governments, gained access to formal political instruments, which could then be used in combination with contentious strategies. Overall, the chapter shows that the confrontational relationship with the corporation had profound impacts on organizational structures and scope for influence. Moreover, it demonstrates that the coalition with subnational governments is key to communities’ ability to sustain the struggle and also illustrates the tensions within the state with regard to natural resource governance.

The Fragmented Struggle for Services

This chapter develops the analysis of the Bambas case, with a focus on the bilateral relationships between different community organizations and Xstrata. While communities are generally engaged in demands for services, this chapter shows that the power dynamics of these relations differed widely. More specifically, they were characterized by strategic collaboration, as well as clientelistic dynamics. While the first section analyzes corporate governance strategies, the following three sections analyze the interactions between Xstrata and different peasant communities and the ways they differ in their capacity to put pressure on the corporation. Overall, the chapter shows that control over land is a crucial asset to establish a bargaining leverage in relation to the corporation. However, it also shows how strategic collaborations could make it difficult to develop broader political coalitions.

Private Politics and Peasant Mobilization

This book explores how different corporate governance strategies affect community mobilization and the scope for influence when an area’s population is faced with the arrival of the extraction indu ...

Historic state-society relations and mobilisations surrounding extractive industries: lessons from Peru

Abstract Various researchers have sought to explain why community organisations respond differently to mining projects. One important, understudied factor is the local history of state-society relations, which shape specific collective identities as well as organisational structures. This study compares the mobilisation processes in two Peruvian mining projects: Rio Blanco in Huancabamba and Bambas in Cotabambas. The former region has a history of strong peasant self-defence organisation, and community demands have focused on local control of territory. The latter region experienced both state neglect and civil society breakdown under the Shining Path, and community demands focus on compensation and social services. The study shows that collective identities greatly affect the ability of local communities to act based on their own definition of their interests in a mining project.