Oil, Africa, and the Global War on Terror
A project of the Center for Global, International and Regional Studies (CGIRS) at the University of California, Santa Cruz
Africa has become a new strategic interest for the United States, which is eyeing oil from the region centered on the Gulf of Guinea as a supplement or even replacement for the Persian Gulf. At the same time, the Pentagon is concerned that the “empty spaces” of the Sahara Desert and Sahel to its south are the locus of terrorist organizing and mobilization. In an effort to balance economic and strategic interests, and dressing these up in humanitarian terms, the U.S. military recently created a new “African Command” (AFRICOM) that, even now, is seeking a home in northern Africa (so far, with little success). During Winter Quarter 2008, CGIRS organized a series of symposia on the topic. These can be found on-line, along with other information and resources.
Background to the topic can be found in:
Paul Lubeck, Michael Watts, and Ronnie Lipschutz, “Trouble in West Africa’s Oil Triangle: U.S. Energy Security, Violence in the Niger Delta, and the Global War on Terror”
Paul Lubeck, Michael Watts, and Ronnie Lipschutz, “Convergent Interests: U.S. Energy Security and the “Securing” of Nigerian Democracy,” Center for International Policy, Feb. 2007
January 28: "The Big Oil Picture", Ronnie Lipschutz, Politics, UCSC
Slide presentation (.ppt)
Talk (.mp3)
Resources: Nonna Gorilovskaya, “The End of Oil,” Mother Jones, 6/8/2004; Clifford Singer, “Oil and Security,” Stanley Foundation Policy Analysis Brief
February 4: The Global War on Terror, Alan Richards, Environmental Studies, UCSC
Talk (.mp3)
Resources: J. Keenan, “Waging War on Terror: The Implications of America's New Imperialism for Saharan Peoples,” Journal of North African Studies 10 No.3-4 (September-December, 2005): 619-647; International Crisis Group, “Islamic Terrorism in the Sahel: Fact or Fiction?” Brussels, March 2005,www.eldis.org/static/DOC18613.htm; Browse U.S. Air Force web cite on the GWOT
February 11: AFRICOM-The U.S. Military in Africa, Ronnie Lipschutz, Politics, UCSC & Paul Lubeck, Sociology, UCSC
Slide presentation (.ppt)
Talk (.mp3)
Resources: Dr Wafula Okumu. “Africa Command: Opportunity for Enhanced Engagement or the Militarization of U.S.-Africa Relations? Testimony given to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health , August 2, 2007; Lauren Ploch, “Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S. Military in Africa,” Congressional Research Service, Dec. 7, 2007; Browse the U.S. African Command web site.
March 3: Resource Competition in Africa, Antony Goldman, PM Consulting London
Slide presentation (.ppt)
Talk (.mp3)
Resources: Jedrzej George Frynas & Manuel Paulo, “A New Scramble for African Oil? Historical Political, and Business Perspectives,” African Affairs 106/423 (2006): 229-51
March 10: Over a barrel: China's oil diplomacy in Africa, Gilles Mohan. Geography Dept., Open University, UK
Slide presentation (.ppt)
Talk (.mp3)
Resources: Pádraig R. Carmody and Francis Y. Owusu, “Competing Hegemons? Chinese versus American Geo-Economic Strategies in Africa,” Political Geography 26 (2007): 504-24
March 17: Oil and Human Rights, Ian Gary, Oxfam, Washington, D.C.
Slide presentation (.ppt)
Talk (.mp3)
Resources: Ian Gary and Terry Lynn Karl, "Bottom of the Barrel: Africa's Oil Boom and the Poor" (Catholic Relief Services, 2003)
April 2: Oil and the Gulf of Guinea, Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Cambridge University
Talk (.mp3)
Resources: Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, “Strategic Resources, International Politics, and Domestic Governance in the Gulf of Guinea,” pp. 179-81
