The Politics of Extractivism: Mining, Institutional Responsiveness, and Social Resistance

Abstract

Natural resource exploitation often generates negative externalities and fuels social conflict. Yet, patterns of social resistance against mining differ considerably within and across countries. What explains differences in the occurrence and duration of anti-mining protest? Distinguishing explicitly between protest onset and continuation, we theorize that communities affected by mining engage in social protest to signal their grievances to political decision-makers. Yet, once protests have erupted, their duration depends on the insti Show more