Potential presenters are sought for the West Africa Research Association’s (WARA) co-sponsored panel on “Mining, Governance, and Energy Exchange in West Africa”
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The history of mining in West Africa is intertwined with the exchange of minerals, labor, and energy resources between pre-colonial societies, colonial territories, the metropolis, multinational corporations, and local communities. From the extraction of gold in Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso to the iron ore mines of Guinea and Mauritania, and the bauxite-rich regions of Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire, mining has shaped the environmental and political relationship of resource exchanges across the region. This panel explores the historical and contemporary dynamics of mining in West Africa, interrogating the environmental impacts, public health challenges, industrial disability, energy exchange, mineral politics, protests, labor relations, and its impacts on the West African region. To better understand these complexities, it is essential to consider the broader theoretical frameworks that scholars have applied to mining landscapes in the region. One such framework is the “resource curse,” which examines how resource wealth can paradoxically lead to economic stagnation, political instability, and environmental degradation. Additionally, discussions around environmental determinism provide insights into how natural resource availability influenced colonial strategies and post-colonial development trajectories. The “resource curse” thesis and discussions around environmental determinism provide useful lenses for interrogating historical and contemporary mining landscapes, whereby state and non-state actors facilitated the movement of minerals, labor, and energy resources across borders to serve local and global needs. This network was not merely economic but was also political, shaping administrative policies and fostering interdependence. War propaganda during World War II highlights the strategic importance of West African mining for Allied and Axis energy security, revealing the intersection between extractive industries, war economies, and energy policies.
This panel invites scholars, researchers, and practitioners to present papers that explore the intersections of mining, governance, and energy exchange in West Africa from precolonial to post-colonial times. We welcome contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
Mining, Policing, and Governance
Energy Exchange and Transnational Networks
Mining, Security, and War Economies
Environmental Impact and Ecological Change
Urbanization and Infrastructure
Labor, Migration, and Mobility
Gender and Extractive Economies
Community Resistance and Indigenous Knowledge
Mining, Public Health, and Disability
Post-colonial Legacies of Mining
Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts should be between 200-250 words.
Abstracts should Include a short biography of the author(s) and institutional affiliation.
Submit abstracts by [March 12, 2025] to africamininghistory@gmail.com.
The panel will take place on November 20-22, 2025, at the 68th Annual Meeting of African Studies Association in Atlanta Georgia. We encourage interdisciplinary contributions from history, geography, environmental studies, anthropology, and related fields.
Co-Organizers
Uzoamaka Nwachukwu-Indiana University, Bloomington
Nwashindu Vitalis- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
