Extractivism Annual International Conference 2024

Extractivism.de is a collaborative research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) based at the University of Kassel and the Philipps University of Marburg. We research natural resource extractivism in Latin America and the Maghreb and its many societal, economic, and political interconnections. This year’s conference will focus on extractivist regimes and the many pathways towards sustainability that countries and actors in different parts of the world are pursuing. Extractive regimes cover the set of formal and informal institutions, crucial actors, and the relational constellations they form, and the many social practices they employ to regulate the input, extraction, processing, distribution and consumption of raw materials and the corresponding energy turnovers.

The conference will delve into the multifaceted dimensions of extractivism, dissecting its historical roots, contemporary manifestations, and future trajectories. The topics in discussion range from issues that interrogate the entanglements of history, coloniality, and unequal exchange that shape modern extractivist practices to critical examinations of the new green windows of opportunity, the return of industry policies and the many extractivist traps of the current energy transition. We also explore who the key actors of extractivist regimes are, how alliances are built, legitimised, and challenged, and how myths of growth and development based on raw materials emerge and influence policymaking. The conference also confronts the complexities of green transition, unmasking the darker sides of sustainability, its exclusions and backlashes, and the role of financialisation and capital flows in these regimes.