The Political Economy of

Natural Resource Governance

Bonn Juego
Postdoctoral Researcher
Development & International Cooperation
University of Jyvskyl, Finland
bonn.juego@jyu.fi
A Presentation for the Seminar
Perspectives on climate change, natural resources and social justice:
Connecting the local to the global

Kepa & the Department of Political and Economic Studies, University of Helsinki
Economicum, Arkadiankatu 7, Helsinki
23 May 2014

Political Economy


Struggle for power and resources
Major Development Problems Today

Poverty and Inequality
Resource Wars/Conflicts
Climate Change and Ecological Degradation
Economic crises
Social Injustices
Natural Resource Governance
Conflict: Man versus Nature

Capitalism:

Markets over Society
Profits over People
Production for profits, not for needs
Privatization of assets, socialization of risks
Commodification of nature and human life
Governance
Who governs ?
Governance for whom ?

Global
Enduring colonialism

Local
Role of state
State-capital relations vis--vis society

Governance/regulation for markets rather than the common good

accumulation by dispossession (e.g., privatization, land grabbing,
land conversion, extractive industries)
EU to trade aid for raw materials
Politiken News in English, 4. Nov 2008


Europe needs raw materials for its
growing hi-tech industry.

The EU Commission wants to use aid as
leverage for supplies.


Gnther Verheugen
Former EU Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry
A single mobile phone requires some 40 different raw
materials - some of them particularly rare.
Many of the raw materials are found in Africa - a continent
that thanks to foreign and aid policy has Europe as its most
important partner....
We must use these instruments to ensure that we have
secure access to raw materials ....
7
Resource Flows: from poor to rich
Negative Net Transfers of
Resources during the
Four Development
Decades

Private flows have
become dominant (private
aid and investment flows)

Development Decade
declaration:

1.0 % of developed
country GDP to
achieve 5.0% GDP in
developing countries

0.3 % private flows
0.7 % ODA

Resource flows no longer
subject to development
needs, but to private
incentives
Negative Net Transfers of Resources Prevail
-600
-500
-400
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
1
9
8
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6
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7
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8
1
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8
9
1
9
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1
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9
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$

B
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i
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s
Developing economies
Africa
Eastern and Southern Asia
Latin America
*Thanks to Jan Kregel.
Climate Negotiations
Conflicts

Developed versus Developing
Various interest groups
WTF? (climate finance)

Contradictions
Neoliberal Climate Policy
market-oriented; oil-based; fossil fuel-dependent

COP: Conference Of Polluters
corporate capture
Alternatives: Actions and Policies (1/7)

Mode of Production (producing/creating wealth)

for redistribution
green
Technologically feasible
Economically productive
Socially acceptable
Politically doable
Ecologically sustainable

Economic Policy Shift

from growth through investments (GDP)

to full employment
which can and must be green
Alternatives: Actions and Policies (2/7)
Market as a tool, not a goal

for socio-economic and ecological development

for a good life
Alternatives: Actions and Policies (3/7)
Alternatives: Actions and Policies (4/7)
Reclaiming the State for the good life
A state comes into
existence for the
purpose of ensuring life,
and it continues to exist
for the purpose of the
good life.

Aristotle, in Politika (I 1252b)
Democratization of natural resources
(the commons)

Democracy as people power.

Democracy at all levels: from state to workplace to
community to household

Political democracy (social justice, freedom, equality)

Economic democracy not just equitable distribution of
wealth, but
democracy as the driving mechanism of the
economy


Alternatives: Actions and Policies (5/7)

Changing Mentalities (thru education)

understanding POLITICAL ECONOMY
vested interests

rediscovering SCIENCE
man-made disasters and sufferings

Alternatives: Actions and Policies (6/7)

Socio-Political Movements

to advance alternative mode of production

to reclaim the commons

Alternatives: Actions and Policies (7/7)
Thank you.
Kiitos.
Gracias.
Salamat.

Bonn Juego
bonn.juego@jyu.fi