Mining Global Decarbonisation for Development in Africa? Regional Geopolitics and the Question of SA
| When: | Friday, 23 August 2024 - Friday, 23 August 2024 |
| Where: | Hybrid Event SCIS Seminar Room, North Lodge, Parktown Management Campus, 2 St David's Place, Parktown, 2193 |
| Start time: | 9:00 |
| Enquiries: | athenkosi.pono@wits.ac.za
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| RSVP: | |
| Cost: | Free but registration is required |
SCIS invites you to a seminar with Michael Smith titled Mining Global Decarbonisation for Development in Africa? Regional Geopolitics and the Question of SA
The Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS) invites you to a seminar with Michael Smith titled Mining Global Decarbonisation for Development in Africa? Regional Geopolitics and the question of South Africa in Africa, on 23 August 2024, 09:00 - 10:30 (SAST).
Abstract:
Research into the geopolitics of ‘critical’ mineral mining is expanding, with a predominant focus on conflicts related to access and control of renewable energy supply chains among global powers. However, there remains a notable dearth of analysis concerned with addressing how the geopolitics of global decarbonisation relates to regional relations and configurations of power. This absence is concerning given the relatively widespread acceptance that regional development strategies should be embraced by economies seeking to leverage their ‘green’ transition mineral endowment for industrialisation and development. This paper revisits the debate on character and role of the South African state in Africa, from the vantage point of the mineral intensity of global decarbonisation and the competitive dynamics of the contemporary global political economy. By examining South Africa's role in contemporary Zambia in the context of increasing international competition for access and control of Zambia's 'green' mineral reserves, the paper highlights the ambiguity of South African state action and the evolving and dynamic relations it forges with domestic and international class and state forces.
About the speaker:
Michael Smith is a Lecturer in Economic Development at the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town. He is also a PhD Candidate in Sociology, York University Canada. Michael's research interests include the geopolitics of the green transition, critical mineral mining and South Africa's evolving economic and political role in Africa.
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