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International Conference on the oil and conflict in Africa
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Conference Date: | 2010-08-12 (Archive) |
| Date Submitted: |
2010-04-15 |
| Announcement ID: |
175609 |
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International Conference on the Oil and Conflict in Africa
Date: 12-13 August 2010
Venue: University of East London, Dockland Campus
In recent years there has been widespread debate in academic and political spheres on the considerable natural resource wealth possessed by various African states. The focal point of most deliberations concerns the socio-economic value non-renewable resource, including oil, natural, gas, gold, diamonds and other minerals in the overall political economy of African states which have the benefit of resource abundance. While divergent perspectives exist on the matter, consensus holds that despite the wealth in resources, most of these African states continue to flounder in the ‘paradox of plenty’, a predicament characterised by extensive poverty, socio-economic and political strife, political repression, fiscal mismanagement and deficient economic development, as well as intermittent conflict and irredentism, among other common issues.
The extensive oil-related conflicts across the African continent are attracting increasing international attention due both to the growing national and regional security threats posed, and particularly, the impacts on the international oil regime. Although the oil-related crises in areas including the Nigeria (Niger Delta), Angola (Cabinda), Sudan and Gabon have been in existence for several decades, the emergence of organized and militant pressure groups in the 1990s has added a new dimension to the crises in the respective regions. Protests and the threat of outright rebellion against the respective states are now ubiquitous. Environmental activism and militancy are a direct response to the impunity, human rights violations, and perceived neglect of such oil-producing regions by the states on one hand and, sustained environmental hazards imposed on local communities as a result of the oil production activities of multinational oil companies on the other. Essentially, Africa’s oil producing states are characterised by the grave failure to transform resource wealth into sustainable development.
In addition to the national and local dynamics of the continents’ oil-related crises, the issue has gained precedence on the global scale due to increased primacy of ‘low politics’ vis a vis ‘high politics’ particularly following the end of the Cold War in 1990. In essence, ‘soft’ issues such as the environment, gender equity and equality, human rights, democracy and good governance have attained primacy on the international agenda. International concern over oil-related conflict in the respective states including the attendant social and humanitarian implications can be located within the context of this global attitudinal shift.
The proposed conference seeks to provide answers to these and other pertinent questions as they relate to the leading oil-producing states, including Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Congo-Brazzaville through debate and collaborative engagement. The conference will entail rigorous deliberation by key stakeholders including academics, civil society actors, government officials/policy makers and representatives of oil-producing communities and those of multinational companies.
Objectives of the Conference:
To provide an international platform for the discussion of oil-related crises in the respective states;
To examine the factors that have precipitated oil-conflict in the across the continent with a view to proposing appropriate solutions;
To highlight the international ramifications of Africa’s oil-conflicts and to propose strategies for their mitigation;
To develop a framework of action that outlines the plausible contributions of both local and international actors to the resolution of the crisis.
Education and Relationship with oil exploration in Africa
Call for Papers
We are inviting scholars, activists, researchers and stakeholders to submit conference papers on the oil and conflict in Africa. The Conference will run for two days in London and proposals should include 250- word abstract and title, author’s name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and institutional affiliation. A non-refundable registration fee of 200Pounds must be paid once an abstract is accepted. Individual interested must register before 10 July 2010
Sub-themes of the conference are:
An overview of the respective African states;
The political economy of oil in the respective states;
Environmental laws in each state;
Human rights violations and social activism in the respective states;
The social impact and costs of the crises for local communities and these African state.
The emergence and role of social movements in the respective states;
Criminal networks and opportunism in these states;
The role of external actors in oil-related crises in Africa;
Past and current crisis resolution initiatives.
Education and Relationship with oil exploration in Africa
Send your proposed title, an abstract of no more than 250 words by 30 June 2010 to:
Dr Victor Ojakorotu: victor.ojakorotu@arts.monash.edu
Dr Elizabeth Achinewhu: E.W.Achinewhu-nworgu@uel.ac.uk
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