Panel

The Politics of Natural Resource Extraction in Southeast Asia
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Natural resources play a critical role in economic, social, and political outcomes in many developing countries, including Southeast Asia. Extractive resources can either be poverty-alleviating through effective institutions, or it can intensify distributional conflicts and encourage rent-seeking practices. Some countries increase dependence on the extractive sectors, thereby, experiencing the ‘resource curse’ effect. Further, resources likewise fuel conflicts between state and non-state actors, as in the case of resource competition for control between state actors and seccessionist groups. Others successfully diversify their economies and deal with distributional issues directly, particularly in terms of taxation regimes, labour laws, and policies to attract foreign investment. Fundamental to the path dependent outcome is the role of the state and its interaction with other actors in shaping the political economy of the extractive industry.

In the Southeast Asian context, extractive resources have been given less attention compared to the other sectors. Countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam have extractive resources that continue to play a critical role in social and economic development. In addition, the recent discovery of hydrocarbons in Cambodia, the intensification of mining activities, and issues of energy security need to be examined from the political economy, governance, and development studies perspectives. Therefore, paper proposals are encouraged to examine theoretical, methodological and empirical aspects of resource extraction. In particular, comparative works on extractive sectors, such as metal mining, oil, natural gas, and mineral extraction, in Southeast Asia are encouraged. The panel plans to explore the following questions:

• What are the conceptual linkages between the developmental state and resource extraction?
• How have natural resources shaped the development outcomes in Southeast Asia?
• Does regime type make a difference in the effective governance of resource extraction?
• Does the resource curse thesis apply to Southeast Asia?
• How does the nature of the resource influence the pattern of social organisation in the region? On the firm/industry structure? On development strategies of the state?
• Is there a substantively different dynamics of interactions among state, market and social forces within the resource sectors of Southeast Asia?
• What is the role of the state in resource extraction?
• To what extent do market solutions to resource extraction succeed in comparison to more nationalist policies of resource extraction?
• Are there sustainable solutions to socially and environmentally costly industries of mining and other non-renewable resources?

Jojo Nem Singh
j.nemsingh@sheffield.ac.uk
Panel Convenor