Kingdoms, extractive natural resources, and sustainable development in Africa

Extractive natural resources, such as minerals and oil, have been typically associated with harmful outcomes in resource-rich African countries. These include corruption, national economic and political instability, high poverty levels, and environmental degradation. This phenomenon is conceptualized as the Resource Curse. In most cases, rural communities, who already struggle to attain high standards of living, are directly affected by adverse effects of resource extraction, especially forced relocation, environmental pollution, and temporary or permanent loss of access to their sources of livelihood, mainly agricultural land and freshwater sources. To a significant degree, these harmful effects of resource extraction are directly caused by the unchecked power and control that private multinational corporations and national governments exercise over the natural resource sector. Thus, this panel invites theoretical perspectives and case studies exploring how rural communities may attain and institutionalize their ownership over extractive natural resources through kingdoms or indigenous cultural formations. Since the pre-colonial era, cultural institutions have functioned as important indigenous forms of governance that support human livelihoods in various ways; but, they are typically excluded from governing extractive natural resources. Indeed, the kingdoms' continued existence and involvement in post-colonial politics is highly debated and controversial for various reasons, including their implication in European colonial rule in Africa. Nevertheless, it is crucial to develop new scholarly and policy approaches that provide practical insights into how these important cultural institutions may contribute to prudent resource governance and sustainable development in Africa and beyond.