The depletion of Africa’s mineral wealth and the extraction of oil, gas, and coal – whether under neocolonial or resource-nationalist agendas – are neither economically justifiable nor conducive to just and sustainable development. Since the 1970s, progressive movements, eco-feminists, and ecological economists have advocated leaving resources underground, highlighting natural capital, unequal ecological exchange, and intergenerational responsibility. In his lecture, Patrick Bond will examine global–local entanglements in resource conflicts in Africa and the challenges of activism against extractivism.
Patrick Bond is a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg. His research centers on the political economy of Africa, international finance, and social movements. He has published widely on these themes. His most recent book is Extreme Uneven Development: Financial Volatility, Deep Capitalist Crisis and Super-Exploitation in South Africa and the World (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025).
