Summary.This article examines the changing forms of African agency in the context of contestations over natural resource governance with the European Union. The authors argue that EU policy is... Show moreSummary.This article examines the changing forms of African agency in the context of contestations over natural resource governance with the European Union. The authors argue that EU policy is motivated by material self-interest but that it has not been able to successfully implement these policies. The way these policies have been challenged by African states has changed, however. The authors argue that a crucial context for this is the failure of the New International Economic Order in the 1970s. The failure of these initiatives helps to explain why the impetus for natural resource governance continues to come from outside the African continent.Résumé. Cet article examine l’évolution des formes du pouvoir d’action autonome de l’Afrique dans le contexte des contestations avec l’Union européenne quant à la gouvernance des ressources naturelles. Les auteurs soutiennent que la politique de l’UE est motivée par des intérêts matériels personnels mais qu’elle n’a pas réussi à mettre en oeuvre ces politiques avec succès. La façon dont ces politiques ont été contestées par les États africains a cependant changé. Les auteurs affirment que l’échec du Nouvel ordre économique international dans les années 1970 constitue un contexte crucial à cet égard. L’échec de ces initiatives contribue à expliquer pourquoi l’élan en faveur de la gouvernance des ressources naturelles continue de venir de l’extérieur du continent africain. Show less
Since signing the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997, the European Union (EU) has been working on increasing its renewable energy supply. However, the progress has been uneven across member states. A vibrant... Show moreSince signing the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997, the European Union (EU) has been working on increasing its renewable energy supply. However, the progress has been uneven across member states. A vibrant literature advances several explanations for this variation, but pays insufficient attention to a critical structural factor – varying levels of natural resource wealth across the EU – and provides an incomplete account by focusing on consumption indicators. Reconciling divergent views in the literature in a single framework, we hold that while overall natural resource abundance can be conducive to renewable energy production within a country, specific natural resources, such as petroleum, are likely to be harmful. These hypotheses find empirical support in a mixed-methods study that combines a fixed-effects statistical analysis of comprehensive panel data between 1997 and 2015 with a comparative qualitative case study of the Netherlands and Belgium. The findings suggest that to achieve the ambitious goals on renewable energy deployment, the EU needs additional policies that explicitly tackle pernicious effects of specific natural resources, including rent-capturing by politicians, rent-seeking by corporate vested interests, and lack of economic incentives to diversify. Show less
