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Governance from below? Non-state actors, environmental politics and agency in Africa.
Panel P76 at conference DSA2023: Crisis in the Anthropocene: rethinking connection and agency for development.
Africa is confronted by multidimensional environmental challenges. Yet, non-state actors have demonstrated agency. We invite contributions that shed light on how –when, which, and/or why– non-state actors have engaged with environmental challenges in Africa and navigated its politics.
Long Abstract:
The devastating impact of climate change has been felt in Africa. While important decisions about how to address the environmental challenges on the continent have been made at the level of the State, non-state actors are increasingly elemental and, indeed, have in many cases driven the process. Non-state actors –used here to mean individuals, non-governmental and civil organisations, social movements, opinion leaders, and others that are not affiliated to, directed or directly funded by government– have been involved at different levels. From mass protests at global environmental/non-environmental events, hosting online campaigns, financial commitment to one-person campaigns, non-state actors in Africa have enmeshed themselves in both local and international environmental politics. Beyond their local government, non-state actors’ agency has seen them engaging multinationals and governments in the United States, Europe and China. Although their actions have not always been successful –especially where there are clear indicators of success– or received State support in Africa, the role of non-state actors in climate action is not in doubt. Yet, while contestation on a geographical definition of non-state actors (i.e. whether there are ‘non-state actors in Africa’ or ‘Africa’s non-state actors’) may persist a few are at the centre of environmental pollution and degradation. This panel therefore invites contributions that broadly discusses non-state actors in Africa and how they have engaged environmental issues in historical and contemporary terms. Among other related issues, the panel is interested in the nature, motivations, scope, choices, evolution, challenges, and/or interventions of non-state actors that engage(d) environmental issues.
Given the failures of global institutions to overcome collective problems, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution, citizen science (CS) has recently emerged as among alternative models of multi-scalar governance that might be drawn upon to tackle new and emerging global crises, particularly monitoring the achievement of the climate related sustainable development goals (SDGs). The recent literature has shown that CS is evolving from a field dominated by isolated, small-scale monitoring projects (i.e., local groups focusing on local issues) to one in which citizen-generated data are more integrated into local governance process and make a significant contribution to monitoring progress towards overcoming global challenges, particularly in the north. However, there is limited knowledge on how CS can be applied in low income countries. Taking a critical political economy perspective, the objective of the proposed paper is to identify opportunities and challenges for adoption and application of CS model as an alternative community-based monitoring device in the developing world. Drawing on data from Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)/Voluntary Local Review of SDGs localization and implementation in Kibaha Town Council, eastern Tanzania, the paper argues that CS holds the potential for addressing local governance deficits by addressing such issues as marginalisation and the lack of power in communities affected by the increasingly uncertain natural world. The findings have implications for policy, practice and further research.
To re assess the role of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his environmental struggle in Ogoni land in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, and argue why the role and activities of the non-state actors seems more relevant and compelling now.
Paper long abstract:
The killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa, the environmental activist, and Ogoni nine – for inciting the people against the state – sparked international condemnation during the military regime of General Sanni Abacha in Nigeria. However, their quest for improving the environment in the oil-rich Niger Delta region remains unaccomplished years after they were killed. Saro-Wiwa presented the agony of the Ogoni people through drama, writing of books and internationalisation of the happenings in the region. This frontally engaged the activities of the Abacha regime and the multinational oil companies. Although there have been attempts by successive government to address the environmental degradation in the region, such efforts have not achieved the ultimate goal of cleaning and reversing the impacts of multinational oil companies in the region. In this paper, I will revisit and reappraise the activities of Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni nine as non-state actors. Adopting qualitative method the paper will argue that the role of the non-state actors was a preconditions for redressing the environmental challenges in the Niger Delta. It will demonstrate that this role directly instigated the government response to the environmental challenges. The paper notes that while tremendous gains have been recorded in the region due to various intervention introduced by the government, the recent change in climate has further exacerbated the existing challenges in the region, thus, requiring unrelenting role of non-state actors in the region.
By deepening their voluntary approach, companies run the risk of having their own commitments imposed to them, even when they go beyond the legal requirements: in this sense, regulation is reinforced. This approach appears to be essential in view of the environmental objectives.
Paper long abstract:
CSR is thus at the origin of a number of codes and charters of conduct. It appears that CSR brings together in a single legal category the wishes of private and public partners in ethical, social and environmental matters, and by a knock-on effect, tends to bring these partners together whenever ethical, social and environmental issues arise. Through this systematic association, the content of the obligations tends to be reinforced. The development of the concept and mechanisms of Corporate Social Responsibility corresponds to the progressive entanglement of public regulation and voluntary approaches and steps. However, it does not limit the voluntary nature of companies' ethical and environmental approaches, but rather imposes an informal constraint on them that is intended to reinforce the content and scope of these voluntary approaches. In reality, this idea is, in our view, too weak. It is not a simple evolution of regulation that is expected and permitted: it is a development of the latter through an evolution of regulation. By noting that the subject of CSR touches on areas that are new to ISO, this organisation concludes that it should review its operating methods in order to ensure that the various interested parties are truly represented. Led by national delegations in which companies are in the majority, ISO should therefore open up to associations and trade unions, experts and scientists as well as to the public sector: international organisations, states or local authorities.
This dissertation argues that the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative has failed to meaningfully improve governance outcomes in the extractive industry in Zambia because three necessary scope conditions (transparency, publicity, accountability) are not sufficiently present.
Paper long abstract:
The Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) is the leading global transparency standard for the extractive industry (EI). It aims to improve governance standards in the EI, by providing a public platform for information sharing and multi-stakeholder dialogue. However, the success of the initiative has been brought into question by numerous scholars. This dissertation aims to shed new light on this work by presenting a unique analytical framework, based on Mackie’s idea of INUS conditions. The framework hypothesises that improved transparency, through the EITI, can lead to improved EI governance: increased accountability, reduced corruption and increased trust. However, this improvement of governance can only take place when combined with three scope conditions: 1) transparency condition, 2) publicity condition, and 3) accountability condition. The dissertation applies this framework to the single case study of Zambia, and finds that the EITI has failed to meaningfully improve these three governance outcomes in the EI in Zambia. The dissertation argues that the reason for this is that none of the three necessary scope conditions are sufficiently present. The dissertation advocates for policy-makers to support the growth of these three conditions in contexts of poor EI governance, to ensure transparency standards have meaningful impact.
By surveying and interviewing relevant stakeholders, this study explores the expatriate management of Chinese construction MNEs in Africa to understand how expatriates work on construction projects and whether their work could influence or present China’s presence in African countries.
Paper long abstract:
With China promoting its global strategies like the Belt and Road Initiative and increasing foreign direct investment and aid to African countries, nearly one-third of the investment and aid has gone to the construction sector. However, most of the studies in this area focus more on discussing the influences from the government or company side, while the people who have been expatriated by Chinese MNEs are sometimes neglected. As more and more evidence emphasises the influences of Chinese expatriates on construction projects, it is worth understanding the expatriates and the expatriate management process of these Chinese MNEs.
This research is an initial attempt to aim specifically at developing an understanding of expatriate management in these Chinese construction MNEs by exploring the current situation of the MNEs’ motives, cultural factors, and institutional factors that impact the relevant Human Resource Management practices for the expatriates, while further exploring the expatriates’ repatriation and career development.
In this research, the author is using a mixed research method that includes both delivering questionnaires and conducting semi-structured interviews. Data is collected from Chinese expatriates, relevant government officers from China and African countries, cooperators with these Chinese construction MNEs, and other stakeholders. By analysing both quantitative and qualitative data, this research is designed to shed light on the practice of expatriate management by Chinese construction MNEs. Thus, the research is intended to further explore and understand the expatriates with solid empirical data.
The study examined environmental non-state actors' mitigation-adaptation response to wicked problems caused by artisanal gold mining in Osun State, Nigeria. This is to ascertain mitigation-adaptation scope and (un)motivations that impede or sustain quality environmental advocacy.
Paper long abstract:
Non-state actors involved in quality environmental advocacy and governance are considered elementally critical for their continual expansion, broad experience, depth of knowledge, and influence on state actions. Yet, sufficient documentation is required to show how this account has impacted wicked environmental problems caused by artisanal gold mining in Osun State, Nigeria. The study examined mitigation-adaptation actions towards rural health and environmental challenges caused by artisanal gold mining in selected communities in Osun State, Nigeria by environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs). This aimed to ascertain mitigation-adaptation scope and (un)motivations that either impede or sustain quality environmental advocacy. A concurrent mixed-method design using key informant interviewees (KIIs) and questionnaires was employed to collect relevant data from five purposively selected ENGOs in Osun State, six officials from the Osun State Ministry of Environment and Sanitation, Osun State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and Osun State Ministry of Health. Other key informants’ interviewees were 10 community leaders and 10 artisanal gold miners from the selected communities. The questionnaires were distributed to 384 participants from the 10 selected communities. The major finding among others showed how poor public/government perception of non-state actors, defective technical cooperation with state actors, declining advocacy competence of non-state actors, weak stakeholder engagement, inadequate research capacity, and security threats shape mitigation-adaptation actions, scope and motivations to quality environmental advocacy on artisanal gold mining in Osun State. The study contributes to unraveling changing patterns of non-state service provision, especially from Nigeria's quality environment policy dimension.
Non-state actors are crucial element in the engagement of deleterious Africa-China environmental relations. Using the Ghanaian example, I will discuss their engagement of Chinese environmental footprint in Africa. This is a qualitative study.
Paper long abstract:
Africa-China relations has intensified in the last 20 years but interest in its environmental dimension is only slowly emerging in academic literature. Although diverse (in focus, size, approach, etc.), non-state actors (hereafter NSAs) – ranging from individuals, media outlets to non-governmental organisations – can/have shape(d) Africa-China environmental relations. In this paper, I offer some insights and discussion of NSAs’ environmental agency. Relying on empirical data from Ghana, this paper deepens an earlier argument about how NSAs can provide important “points of engagement” in Africa-China relations – especially in instances where there are “points of exit” when the African State, represented by its government, failed (or is failing, weak, impeded, and/or slow) to engage deleterious aspects of Africa(n)-China(ese) encounters. Specifically, the paper demonstrates that NSAs can serve, and have been successful as a check on Chinese environmental footprints in a country like Ghana. Beyond discussing how NSAs engage negative Africa-China environmental relations, I will situate their success and failures within a broader geo-political context. In addition, I will interrogate the extent to which NSAs can collaborate (or not) with Chinese environmental actors in fostering a sustainable environment in Africa. Although secondary data were sourced from relevant popular and academic publications to paint an African picture of NSAs and their engagement of Africa-China environmental relations, primary data for the paper is based on in-depth interviews with Ghanaian (and Ghana-based) NSAs. The paper is an aspect of a broader qualitative research agenda on State, NSAs and global environmental governance in Africa.
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