Zusammenfassung: Der Nexus von Erdöl, Staat und Entwicklung wird gegenwärtig kontrovers diskutiert. Galt Erdölreichtum lange Zeit als entwicklungspolitischer Fluch und Basis autoritärer Regime, lässt sich seit Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts ein neuer Rohstoffoptimismus beobachten. Der massive Preisverfall relativiert gleichwohl Hoffnungen auf wirtschaftliche und soziale Entwicklungserfolge durch die Erdölförderung. Der Beitrag diskutiert die aktuellen Kontroversen, zeigt zentrale Leerstellen der Debatte auf und analysiert diese anschließend auf Basis einer vergleichenden Analyse der Fallstudien Kuwait, Venezuela und Angola. Dabei wird gezeigt, dass allgemeine Aussagen über die Konsequenzen der Erdölabhängigkeit der Diversität der Fälle nicht gerecht werden. Statt weiter an etablierten Dichotomien festzuhalten, wird abschließend für ein komplexes qualitativ orientiertes Forschungsdesign zur Analyse von Rentengesellschaften plädiert. Abstract: The nexus of oil, the state and development is currently an issue of controversy. Whereas oil-dependence was seen for a long time as a development curse and foundation for authoritarian regimes, new resource optimism has surged at the beginning of the 21 st century. However, the recent massive price drop relativizes hopes about economic and social development gains through oil. The article discusses the current controversies, highlights central problems of the debate and subsequently offers a comparative analysis of the case studies Kuwait, Venezuela and Angola. It stresses that general affirmations about the consequences of resource-dependence cannot do justice to the diversity of existing cases and contexts. The article closes with a plea for overcoming well-established dichotomies in favor of a more complex qualitative research design to analyze rentier societies.

Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Ressourcenboom in Südamerika: alte Praktiken – neue Diskurse?

Robert Hafner, Gerhard Rainer, Fernando Ruiz Peyré, Martin Coy

Page range: 25-39

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Abstract

Zusammenfassung: Der globale Boom der commodities hatte einen fundamentalen Einfluss auf die Wirtschaft vieler lateinamerikanischer Länder hin zur Reprimarisierung. Nach einer neoliberalen Phase der Öffnung in den 1990er Jahren, die stark durch den Washington Consensus geprägt sind, bringen die 2000er Jahre einen komplexeren politischen, sozialen und ökonomischen Kontext mit sich. Neo-extraktivistische Praktiken und post-extraktivistische Diskurse werden en vogue . Dieser Beitrag legt diese Veränderungen offen und kontextualisiert sie. Dabei wird die theoretische Diskussion mit zentralen Beispielen aus dem Bergbau, der Sojaproduktion und Infrastrukturprojekten in Südamerika aufgearbeitet. Abstract: The global commodity boom has had a major impact on many South American economies and their tendencies towards reprimarisation. After a phase of neoliberal opening of the 1990s influenced by the Washington Consensus, the 2000s have brought a more complex political, social and economic context; neo-extractivist practices and post-extractivist discourses become en vogue . This paper unearths and contextualizes those changes and highlights the theoretical discussion with major examples of mining, soy production and infrastructure projects in South America.

Publicly Available June 15, 2016

The petro-political configuration: entanglements of Western and Chinese oil zones in Niger

Jannik Schritt

Page range: 40-56

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Abstract

Abstract: The article examines the spatial, economic, political and socio-cultural transformations induced in the process of Niger becoming a new oil producer in 2011. It does so by analyzing entanglements of Western and Chinese ‘oil zones’ in Niger, which are understood as trans-territorial spaces of assemblage. I argue that the specific properties of these two oil zones have triggered the emergence of a particular ‘petro-political configuration’ in Niger. The argument proceeds through four stages. Firstly, looking at economic entanglements, I argue that the Chinese oil zone enabled the Nigerien economy to develop so-called upstream and downstream oil industries, something the Western oil zone had not allowed. Secondly, analyzing political and socio-cultural entanglements, I argue that, by being co-opted into former Nigerien president Mamadou Tandja’s political project for constitutional amendment, China’s oil diplomacy has become a kind of ‘soft power’ in Niger, something Western political rhetoric has failed to achieve. Thirdly, focusing on geopolitical and military entanglements, I argue that the militarization of global space should ensure capitalist accumulation, especially in situations in which the translation of transnational governmentality has failed. Finally, I use these entanglements to identify the heterogeneous elements of Western and Chinese ‘oil zones’, and the specific capitalist properties these assemblages generate.

Publicly Available June 15, 2016

For better or worse: major developments affecting resource and conflict dynamics in northwest Kenya

Janpeter Schilling, Thomas Weinzierl, Augustine Ekitela Lokwang, Francis Opiyo

Page range: 57-71

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Abstract

Abstract: The county of Turkana, located in northwest Kenya, has a long history of violent conflicts. These are fought by pastoral groups over scarce water, land, pasture and livestock resources. Now oil has been found in Turkana, fuelling both hopes for a resource blessing and fears of a resource curse. The discovery of oil coincides with four other major developments, namely the process of devolution, the large-scale infrastructure project LAPSSET (Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport), the discovery of significant aquifers and the Gibe III dam in Ethiopia. The aim of this paper is first to give an overview of these developments, and second to explore their interactions and their effects on existing and potentially new resource and conflict dynamics. The article is based on a review of the academic literature as well as newspaper articles, government records and company publications. Further, we analyze security data and draw on extensive field research conducted in northwest Kenya over the past five years. To illustrate potential pathways, we draft a worst and best case scenario. Our results suggest that the described developments will strongly affect the existing water, land and livestock resources and create new ones in the form of revenues, business opportunities, employment and infrastructure. To decrease the conflict potential and to maximize benefits, it is highly important for any project to closely include the local communities in a fair and transparent manner.

Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Makro- und mikroökonomische Folgen des Rohstoffbooms in der Mongolei

Manuela Lagrange

Page range: 72-80

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Abstract

Zusammenfassung: In den vergangenen 15 Jahren ist ein radikaler Wandel der mongolischen Wirtschaft zu beobachten. Bedingt durch die Aktivitäten transnationaler Investoren im mongolischen Bergbausektor, wächst die ökonomische Bedeutung des Bergbaus, während die traditionelle Tierhaltung an wirtschaftlicher Relevanz verliert. In diesem Beitrag werden verschiedene ökonomische Auswirkungen des Bergbaus in der Mongolei auf nationaler Ebene und Effekte auf die Haushaltökonomie traditioneller Tierhalter, die in den Bergbauregionen leben, thematisiert. Abstract: In the last 15 years a radical change in Mongolia’s economy is observed. Due to activities of transnational investors in the Mongolian mining sector the economic importance of mining increases while traditional herding looses economic importance. This paper examines different economic impacts of mining in Mongolia on a national level and effects on the household economy of traditional herders who live around mining sites.

Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Interplay between structural change in Central Asian agriculture and institutional scarcity of land and water: evidence from Tajikistan

Insa Theesfeld, Frederike Klümper

Page range: 81-96

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Abstract

Abstract: This contribution focuses on the interaction between structural change in agriculture and the availability of key natural resources – land and water. The relationship is not unidimensional; therefore, we propose three dimensions of resource-induced structural change. The first dimension describes the links between the two critical input factors into agricultural production, namely land and water. To systematize this perspective, we use the concept of linking patterns that depict direct and indirect intersectoral linkages from a property rights perspective. Second, we examinee the dimension of how structural change in agriculture can be triggered by scarcity of natural resources. The third dimension describes structural change that may lead to overuse and scarcity. In this regard, we introduce resource scarcity not only as physical but most important as institutional scarcity. To illustrate these dimensions, we have chosen a case in Central Asia, where the availability and the control of access and withdrawal rights to land and water is of utmost importance for the agricultural sector. Tajikistan faces physical and institutional scarcity in arable land. The institutional scarcity is due to the non-transparent and costly processes that need to be followed to gain land rights. Likewise there is sufficient supply in water, in Tajikistan, but the de-facto access rights to water are limited for some groups. For instance, the post-socialist irrigation infrastructure is now inappropriate to serve all small-scale users on a canal. In the future, land use change due to a predicted increase of major investors, will have additional impact on the de-facto water rights. We conclude that a solid study not only on the physical but also on the institutional relations of agriculture to natural resources is important to come to reliable predictions of structural change in agriculture. We also show that structural change in agriculture may have wider implications for rural society that go beyond the agricultural sector.

Book reviews

Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Rebecca Piekkari, Denise Welch und Lawrence Welch: Language in International Business. The Multilingual Reality of Global Business Expansion. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar (2014), 272 S., 27,50 £.

Page range: 97-97

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Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Benjamin Etzold: The Politics of Street Food. Contested Governance and Vulnerabilities in Dhaka’s Field of Street Vending. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag (2013), 386 S., 58,00 €.

Page range: 97-99

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Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Alan McKinnon, Michael Browne, Maja Piecyk und Anthony Whiteing (eds.): Green Logistics – Improving the Environmental Sustainability of Logistics. London u. a.: Kogan Page (3. Auflage, 2015), 426 S., 43,95 €.

Page range: 99-100

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Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Christoph Haferburg und Marie Huchzermeyer (eds.): Urban Governance in Post-apartheid Cities. Modes of Engagement in South Africa’s Metropoles. Stuttgart: Bornträger (2014), 337 S., 49,90 €.

Page range: 100-101

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Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Eva-Maria Roelevink: Organisierte Intransparenz. Das Kohlensyndikat und der Niederländische Markt 1915–1932. München: Beck Verlag (2015), 407 S., 84,00 €.

Page range: 101-103

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Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Maureen McKelvey and Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen (eds.), Innovation Spaces in Asia. Entrepreneurs, Multinational Enterprises and Policy. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar (2015), 400 S., 81,00 £.

Page range: 103-104

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Publicly Available June 15, 2016

Beckert, Sven: King Cotton. Eine Geschichte des globalen Kapitalismus. München: Verlag C.H. Beck 2014, 525 S., 29,95 €. Scholl, Lars U./Slotta, Rainer (Hrsg.): Abenteuer Salpeter. Gewinnung und Nutzung eines Rohstoffs in der chilenischen Atacamawüste. Bremen: Edition Falkenberg 2014, 168 S., 184 Abb., 22,90 €.

Page range: 104-105

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About this journal

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Call for Papers – Special Issue
Shaping Globalisation: Revisiting the State-Global Production Network Nexus

Guest editors: Martin Hess & Rory Horner (University of Manchester)

Further Information

Deadline (Abstracts): June 19^th, 2023

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Call for Papers – Special Issue
Complementarity of Locations: challenges of sustainability and disruptions

Guest editors: Ram Mudambi (Temple University, USA) & Pengfei Li (University of Calgary, Canada)

Further Information

Deadline (Abstracts): March 31^st, 2024

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Starting with issue 1/2022, the former journal Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie (The German Journal of Economic Geography) will be relaunched under the new title ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography. With ongoing internationalization of academic disciplines, the journal has made the decision to open up to the global academic community by focusing on English-language publications.

To support the relaunch and invite a broad readership, ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography will be transferred to Diamond Open Access on a year-by-year basis, starting with the 2022 volume. All articles will immediately appear under the Creative Commons license CC-BY, at no publication costs for the authors. The Open Access transformation is based on Subscribe-to-Open, an alternative model that enables the full Open Access transformation of journals through the continuation of existing subscriptions. The prerequisite for successful transformation is that subscriptions are continued to the same extent as before. The editors of ZFW and the publisher De Gruyter would therefore like to thank all subscribers for their support, which has made the transformation to Open Access possible.

ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography aims to become a driver of and contributor to the global knowledge architecture in the field of economic geography broadly defined through its commitment to diversity regarding innovative themes and authors and by pushing for a non-partisan cross-disciplinary agenda. It invites contributions that develop novel conceptualizations and present new empirical insights into economic structures, processes and practices, as well as their variations and outcomes in spatial perspective. Themes of particular interest include the actors and institutions shaping regional economic development, the institutional and socio-economic triggers of localized knowledge generation and innovation, the flows of people, knowledge and resources over distance, the development and persistence of unequal economic geographies worldwide, the global organization of capitalism and its evolution in spatial perspective, the impact of new societal challenges across space, and related topical areas.