Paper short abstract:

Based on a case study in Burkina Faso, this paper proposes to use the concept of moral economy to describe popular collective action against industrial mines. It helps to reveal that these struggles contest indeed the legitimacy of resources led-development and express a specific sense of social justice.

Paper long abstract:

Contentious politics related to extractive activities are mushrooming all over Western Africa. These disputes are taking different forms (meetings, demonstration, violence, lobbying, collective action) and involve a large scope of actors: inhabitants from "local communities", artisanal miners, multinational companies, trade unions and public authorities at both the national and local levels.

A steady observation of political and social life of Burkina Faso these last ten years has shown the increasing occurrence of confrontation between "populations" and "multinational companies", inducing most of the times violent and direct actions, that some commentators would like to see as "riots".

This double dimension of popular and violent contention leads to revisiting the concept of "moral economy" proposed by Thomson. This article, based on a case study in Burkina Faso, supports that the concept of moral economy applied in actual mining contention helps to reveal that these people protest not only because of a diminution of their resources (land, gold..) but essentially to contest the legitimacy of the extractive processes. It is a way to underline that the extractive led development strategy supports by the State and the international institutions are not so well accepted locally because they endanger a rural traditional way of life and does not match whit the local sense of social justice.