The Politics of Resource Extraction

International institutions, including the United Nations and World Bank, and numerous multinational companies (MNCs) have voiced concern over the adverse impact of resource extraction activities on the livelihood of indigenous communities. Yet the scale and scope of problems confronting indigenous peoples caused by mineral extraction projects endorsed by governments, international agencies and MNCs is monumental. This raises a paradox: despite the burgeoning number of international charters and national laws asserting the rights of indigenous peoples, they find themselves subjected to discrimination, dispossession and racism. This volume explores this paradox by examining mega resource extraction projects in Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chad and Cameroon, India, Nigeria, Peru and the Philippines. This paperback edition includes a new preface outlining recent changes that have occurred between the state, multinational firms and indigenous peoples.