IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v108y2018icp74-85.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Contesting the hydrocarbon frontiers: State depoliticizing practices and local responses in Peru

Author

Listed:
  • Schilling-Vacaflor, Almut
  • Flemmer, Riccarda
  • Hujber, Anna

Abstract

Based on primary sources, this article analyzes 150 participatory events related to planned hydrocarbon projects in Peru (2007–2012). Therein, it sheds light on state depoliticizing practices and local populations’ contestations thereof. We argue that participation in the extraction sector has not enabled effective participation and has instead been used to pave the way for expanding the extractive frontiers. We find that the state entity responsible for carrying out the events applied three main depoliticizing practices: (a) the organization of exclusionary participatory processes, (b) the provision of pro-extraction information, and (c) the identification of critical actors and discourses in order to formulate recommendations on how to weaken resistance against the planned activities. This study also reveals that local populations often contested the participatory events and identifies subnational patterns of local contestation. We find that higher degrees of contestation were fueled by previous negative experiences with extraction activities and the existence of local economic alternatives. To assess the histories and results of contestation over specific extractive activities over time, the study draws on monthly conflict reports produced by the Peruvian ombudsperson (2007–2016). We find that local contestation was quite influential, leading to increased social investment programs in the affected areas, the withdrawal of several extraction corporations, and Peru’s adoption of the Law on Prior Consultation (2011). However, the long-term prospects of the transformations provoked by repoliticizing processes need to be evaluated in the years to come.

Suggested Citation

  • Schilling-Vacaflor, Almut & Flemmer, Riccarda & Hujber, Anna, 2018. "Contesting the hydrocarbon frontiers: State depoliticizing practices and local responses in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 74-85.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:108:y:2018:i:c:p:74-85
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.03.019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X18301013
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.03.019?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Orta-Martínez, Martí & Finer, Matt, 2010. "Oil frontiers and indigenous resistance in the Peruvian Amazon," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 207-218, December.
    2. Esben Leifsen & Luis Sánchez-Vázquez & Maleny Gabriela Reyes, 2017. "Claiming prior consultation, monitoring environmental impact: counterwork by the use of formal instruments of participatory governance in Ecuador’s emerging mining sector," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 1092-1109, May.
    3. Hans-Jürgen Burchardt & Kristina Dietz, 2014. "(Neo-)extractivism – a new challenge for development theory from Latin America," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 468-486, March.
    4. Bebbington, Anthony & Abramovay, Ricardo & Chiriboga, Manuel, 2008. "Social Movements and the Dynamics of Rural Territorial Development in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 2874-2887, December.
    5. Jaskoski, Maiah, 2014. "Environmental Licensing and Conflict in Peru's Mining Sector: A Path-Dependent Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 873-883.
    6. Almut Schilling‐Vacaflor & Jessika Eichler, 2017. "The Shady Side of Consultation and Compensation: ‘Divide‐and‐Rule’ Tactics in Bolivia's Extraction Sector," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 48(6), pages 1439-1463, November.
    7. Erik Swyngedouw, 2005. "Governance Innovation and the Citizen: The Janus Face of Governance-beyond-the-State," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(11), pages 1991-2006, October.
    8. Anthony Bebbington & Leonith Hinojosa & Denise Humphreys Bebbington & Maria Luisa Burneo & Ximena Warnaars, 2008. "Contention and Ambiguity: Mining and the Possibilities of Development," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 5708, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    9. Riccarda Flemmer & Almut Schilling‐Vacaflor, 2016. "Unfulfilled promises of the consultation approach: the limits to effective indigenous participation in Bolivia’s and Peru’s extractive industries," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 172-188, January.
    10. Ospina Peralta, Pablo & Bebbington, Anthony & Hollenstein, Patric & Nussbaum, Ilana & Ramírez, Eduardo, 2015. "Extraterritorial Investments, Environmental Crisis, and Collective Action in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 32-43.
    11. Marilyn Machado & David López Matta & María Mercedes Campo & Arturo Escobar & Viviane Weitzner, 2017. "Weaving hope in ancestral black territories in Colombia: the reach and limitations of free, prior, and informed consultation and consent," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 1075-1091, May.
    12. Javier Arellano-Yanguas, 2011. "Aggravating the Resource Curse: Decentralisation, Mining and Conflict in Peru," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(4), pages 617-638.
    13. Esben Leifsen & Maria-Therese Gustafsson & Maria A. Guzmán-Gallegos & Almut Schilling-Vacaflor, 2017. "New mechanisms of participation in extractive governance: between technologies of governance and resistance work," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 1043-1057, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gustafsson, Maria-Therese & Scurrah, Martin, 2019. "Strengthening subnational institutions for sustainable development in resource-rich states: Decentralized land-use planning in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 133-144.
    2. Haslam, Paul Alexander, 2021. "The micro-politics of corporate responsibility: How companies shape protest in communities affected by mining," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    3. Orihuela, José Carlos & Mendieta, Arturo & Pérez, Carlos & Ramírez, Tania, 2021. "From paper institutions to bureaucratic autonomy: Institutional change as a resource curse remedy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Merino, Roger, 2018. "Re-politicizing participation or reframing environmental governance? Beyond indigenous’ prior consultation and citizen participation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 75-83.
    2. Gustafsson, Maria-Therese & Scurrah, Martin, 2019. "Strengthening subnational institutions for sustainable development in resource-rich states: Decentralized land-use planning in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 133-144.
    3. Orihuela, José Carlos & Mendieta, Arturo & Pérez, Carlos & Ramírez, Tania, 2021. "From paper institutions to bureaucratic autonomy: Institutional change as a resource curse remedy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Haslam, Paul Alexander & Ary Tanimoune, Nasser, 2016. "The Determinants of Social Conflict in the Latin American Mining Sector: New Evidence with Quantitative Data," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 401-419.
    5. Luckeneder, Sebastian & Giljum, Stefan & Krisztin, Tamás, 2019. "Do mining activities foster regional development? Evidence from Latin America in a spatial econometric framework," Ecological Economic Papers 28, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    6. Hinojosa, Leonith & Bebbington, Anthony & Cortez, Guido & Chumacero, Juan Pablo & Humphreys Bebbington, Denise & Hennermann, Karl, 2015. "Gas and Development: Rural Territorial Dynamics in Tarija, Bolivia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 105-117.
    7. Amelia Corzo & Nadia Gamboa, 2018. "Environmental impact of mining liabilities in water resources of Parac micro-watershed, San Mateo Huanchor district, Peru," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 939-961, April.
    8. Damonte, Gerardo, 2021. "Limited state governance and institutional hybridization in alluvial ASM in Peru," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Karolien van Teijlingen & Barbara Hogenboom, 2016. "Debating Alternative Development at the Mining Frontier: Buen Vivir and the Conflict around El Mirador Mine in Ecuador," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 32(4), pages 382-420, December.
    10. Haslam, Paul Alexander, 2021. "The micro-politics of corporate responsibility: How companies shape protest in communities affected by mining," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    11. Meadows, John & Annandale, Mark & Ota, Liz, 2019. "Indigenous Peoples’ participation in sustainability standards for extractives," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    12. Berdegué, Julio A. & Bebbington, Anthony & Escobal, Javier, 2015. "Conceptualizing Spatial Diversity in Latin American Rural Development: Structures, Institutions, and Coalitions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-10.
    13. Gregory, Gillian H., 2021. "Rendering mine closure governable and constraints to inclusive development in the Andean region," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    14. Amengual, Matthew, 2018. "Buying stability: The distributive outcomes of private politics in the Bolivian mining industry," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 31-45.
    15. Irarrazaval, Felipe, 2022. "Social protest at mining territories: Examining contentious politics at mining districts in Chile," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    16. Arango-Aramburo, Santiago & Jaramillo, Patricia & Olaya, Yris & Smith, Ricardo & Restrepo, Oscar J. & Saldarriaga-Isaza, Adrián & Arias-Gaviria, Jessica & Parra, Juan F. & Larsen, Erik R. & Gomez-Rios, 2017. "Simulating mining policies in developing countries: The case of Colombia," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 99-113.
    17. Paul Alexander Haslam, 2020. "States and Firms Co-producing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Developing World," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 36(3), pages 270-289, September.
    18. Berdegué, Julio A. & Escobal, Javier & Bebbington, Anthony, 2015. "Explaining Spatial Diversity in Latin American Rural Development: Structures, Institutions, and Coalitions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 129-137.
    19. Gómez-Valenzuela, Víctor & Alpízar, Francisco & Bonilla, Solhanlle & Franco-Billini, Carol, 2020. "Mining conflict in the Dominican Republic: The case of Loma Miranda," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    20. James Haselip, 2011. "Transparency, consultation and conflict: Assessing the micro‐level risks surrounding the drive to develop Peru's Amazonian oil and gas resources," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(4), pages 283-292, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:108:y:2018:i:c:p:74-85. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.