Coltan

Michael Nest

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English

Polity Press
04 March 2011

Politics & government; Economic geology; Management of land & natural resources

Series: Resources

A decade ago no one except geologists had heard of tantalum or 'coltan' - an obscure mineral that is an essential ingredient in mobile phones and laptops. Then, in 2000, reports began to leak out of Congo: of mines deep in the jungle where coltan was extracted in brutal conditions watched over by warlords. The United Nations sent a team to investigate, and its exposé of the relationship between violence and the exploitation of coltan and other natural resources contributed to a re-examination of scholarship on the motivations and strategies of armed groups.

The politics of coltan encompass rebel militias, transnational corporations, determined activists, Hollywood celebrities, the rise of China, and the latest iGadget. Drawing on Congolese and activist voices, Nest analyses the two issues that define coltan politics: the relationship between coltan and violence in the Congo, and contestation between activists and corporations to reshape the global tantalum supply chain. The way production and trade of coltan is organised creates opportunities for armed groups, but the Congo wars are not solely, or even primarily, about coltan or minerals generally. Nest argues the political significance of coltan lies not in its causal link to violence, but in activists' skillful use of mobile phones as a symbol of how ordinary people and transnational corporations far from Africa are implicated in Congo's coltan industry and therefore its conflict. Nest examines the challenges coltan initiatives face in an activist 'marketplace' crowded with competing justice issues, and identifies lessons from coltan initiatives for the geopolitics of global resources more generally.

By: Michael Nest
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 211mm, Width: 150mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 327g
ISBN: 9780745649320
ISBN 10: 0745649327
Series: Resources
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 04 March 2011
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of abbreviations. List of Tables. List of Figures. List of Boxes. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. Organisation of production and trade. 3. Coltan, Congo and war. 4. Advocacy, campaigns and initiatives. 5. The future of coltan politics. Selected readings. Index.

Michael Nest is an independent scholar working on governance and development issues related to natural resources. His previous book was on the economic dimensions of the Congo War.

Reviews for Coltan

This book's treatment of the topic will be a major advancement in exposing the illegal Coltan trade, and contributes to a broader understanding of how natural resources continue to destabilize parts of the world. Ian Taylor, University of St Andrews In this excellent book Michael Nest examines whether the cycles of violence in an impoverished region are caused by the behavior of wealthy consumers. Are we as users of mobile telephones fuelling a terrible war? Anke Hoeffler, University of Oxford