Overview

Fighting Global Neo-Extractivism: Fossil-Free Social Movements in South Africa analyzes social struggles over damaging new fossil fuel projects in the Global South with a focus on South Africa, Africa’s biggest fossil fuel emitter. Fossil fuel extraction in South Africa has reached a new accelerated phase in which the fossil fuel frontier is moving beyond historical ‘sacrifice zones’ into non-traditional spaces, such as conservation parks and middle-class neighbourhoods, and provoking fervent opposition from grassroots activists. This book examines campaigns such as Frack Free South Africa and Save our iMfolozi Wilderness, viewing them as struggles against neo-extractivism driven by the state and industry. Through a series of detailed case studies, it highlights the shaping of mobilisation patterns by prior land use practices and the capacity to mobilize different social groups across race and class. Developing the notion of the fossil fuel frontier as the material and political boundary that activists in South Africa and elsewhere in the world render visible, this volume provides a theoretical framework to understanding global mobilization patterns. This timely and impassioned book will appeal to students and researchers interested in a range of subjects, including environmentalism, social movements, political ecology, and development studies.

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9780367627966

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Reviews

"'Social movements to contest the expansion of fossil fuel frontiers provide a vital line of defence in the struggle against runaway climate change. In this book, Jasper Finkeldey expertly combines theoretical insights about the power of fossil fuel industries with new empirical research on the way in which movements to contest coal mining and fracking in South Africa are resisting fossil fuel hegemony. The book will be of great interest to scholars and activists alike.' - Peter Newell, University of Sussex, UK 'South Africa has gained notice on the international stage for its commitments to slow the pace of climate change. As Jasper Finkeldey demonstrates in his important new book, however, the country is dominated by powerful energy interests with every intention of boosting South Africa's fossil fuel production - at whatever risk to the planet, the local environment, and the populations living nearby. Vigorous grassroots organizations have sprung up to resist this onslaught, the book shows, but they have been overpowered by the ""minerals-energy complex"". His new book, Fighting Global Neo-Extractivism, is essential reading for those seeking an up-to-date account of grassroots efforts to fight the expansion of fossil fuel production.' -Michael Klare, Hampshire College,USA 'Hundreds of locally-based social movements against fossil fuel extraction are learning, from their own experience and from each other; ways are being found to knit them together globally. The concept of environmental justice is central to these processes, Jasper Finkeldey concludes from his extensive research, which includes details studies of movements resisting coal mining and fracking projects in South Africa. This study will be of value both to researchers and activists.' - Simon Pirani, author of Burning Up: A Global History of Fossil Fuel Consumption, Honorary Professor at the University of Durham, UK"

Author Information

Jasper Finkeldey is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Lecturer in Political Science in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Cultural Studies at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. His interdisciplinary research focuses on environmental politics, social movements, political economy, and conflicts over resources.

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