Resource nationalism and community engagement in extractive resource governance: insights from Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Resource nationalism has dominated resource governance politics across Africa. Resource-rich states have sought to both relegitimise extraction and secure more economic benefits. However, there is a paucity of studies on the consequences of resource nationalism for community participation in resource-governance and decision-making processes. Drawing on three cases of community resistance and negotiation in three different eras, this paper compares two waves of resource nationalism, i.e. the second and third waves, to show whether and how resource nationalism promotes community participation. While presenting itself as pro-participatory governance, resource nationalism reproduces structural constraints on meaningful community engagement in extractive resource governance.

RÉSUMÉ

Le nationalisme des ressources a dominé la politique de gouvernance des ressources à travers l'Afrique. Les États riches en ressources ont cherché à la fois à relégitimer l'extraction et à obtenir davantage de bénéfices économiques. Cependant, il existe peu d'études sur les conséquences du nationalisme des ressources sur la participation des communautés locales aux processus de gouvernance des ressources et de prises de décision. En s'appuyant sur trois affaires de résistance et de négociation communautaires à trois époques différentes, cet article compare deux vagues de nationalisme des ressources, à savoir les deuxième et troisième vagues de nationalisme des ressources, pour montrer si et comment le nationalisme des ressources favorise la participation communautaire. Tout en se présentant comme favorable à la gouvernance participative, le nationalisme des ressources reproduit les contraintes structurelles qui empêchent un engagement significatif des communautés dans la gouvernance des ressources extractives.

KEYWORDS:

• Resource nationalism
• extractive resources
• community engagement
• resource governance
• Tanzania
• Magufuli

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Nationalisme des ressources
• ressources extractives
• engagement communautaire
• gouvernance des ressources
• Tanzanie
• Magufuli

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the ROAPE editorial team for tirelessly working on the manuscript that resulted in this paper. I am especially indebted to Dr Elisa Greco for guiding me through the revisions process to publication. I am also indebted to the anonymous reviewers who spared their valuable time to review the manuscript and provide insightful and critical comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 See Article 5 (1–3) of the Natural Wealth and Resources Contracts (Review and Renegotiation of Unconscionable Terms) Act, 2017, and Article 12 of the Natural Wealth and Resources (Permanent Sovereignty) Act 2017.

2 The Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) is an independent government institution established in 2001 to promote and protect human rights in Tanzania. In promoting and protecting human rights, CHRAGG receives and investigates complaints, and conducts research, monitoring and enquiry into human rights violations.

3 ‘Northern regions’ refers to all regions other than the southern regions (Lindi and Mtwara), which the people of Mtwara believe have received favourable government attention while the southern regions have been neglected.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Japhace Poncian

Japhace Poncian is a lecturer at Mkwawa University College of Education. He holds a PhD (politics) from the University of Newcastle, Australia. He researches extractive resource governance, community engagement in decision-making processes and broader governance and development issues. His most recent research has appeared in Energy Policy, Energy Research and Social Science, Political Geography, Local Government Studies, Development Studies Research and International Journal of Gender Studies in Developing Societies.