The politics of resistance in the neoliberal mining regime

Since the 1980s, resource-rich states reconfigured their development strategies in response to global economic pressures. As mining companies rushed to capitalise on reforms, social movements and local communities mobilised across the world to resist resource extraction. The social movement literature has documented the response of various civil society and people’s organisations to mining companies, while the literature on artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) or informal mining has argued for a developmental model outside corporate-led auspices. These two approaches are here brought together in a conversation on the politics of resistance to a neoliberal-led mineral regime. Using prior research on mining in the Philippines, the chapter highlights the link between global mineral extraction and the response of states, civil society, and local communities to economic globalisation.