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The Political Economy of Southeast Asia pp 317–339Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Political Economy of Southeast Asia’s Extractive Industries: Governance, Power Struggles and Development Outcomes

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Part of the book series: Studies in the Political Economy of Public Policy ((PEPP))

Abstract

Building on insights from the Murdoch School, this chapter provides an analysis of the political economy of extractive industries in Southeast Asia, emphasising how multi-scalar politics have shaped specific modes of governance in the sector, and in turn, regional development outcomes. It provides an overview of the region’s extractive industries’ production, exploring how domestic and international power struggles have influenced modes of governance in the sector and the socio-environmental ramifications of this. It also analyses the emerging contestation of the neoliberal norms forged by pro-extractive industry interests.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    While there are good reasons to expand the definition of extractive industries to include all extractive-linked activities (such as fisheries, logging or mono-cropping), given space limitations this chapter will exclusively focus on oil, gas and minerals. For a thorough analysis of land and environmental issues, see the chapters by Hirsch and Gellert, respectively, in this volume.

  2. 2.

    By nickel content of mine output or 45% of the metal/refined nickel.

  3. 3.

    Used mainly in glass-making and ceramics.

  4. 4.

    Used mainly as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in forms of plaster, blackboard chalk and wallboard.

  5. 5.

    Mixed with other metals, it is used mainly to form low-melting alloys.

  6. 6.

    Data for Cambodia are unavailable, but ASM of gold and rubies is taking place.

  7. 7.

    This is mainly low-rank thermal coal exported to China and India for use in power stations.

  8. 8.

    Natural resource rents have never exceeded 1% of GDP in Singapore and 5% in the Philippines and Thailand, so they are excluded.

  9. 9.

    State corporations, including Pertamina (oil), Timah (tin mining), Aneka Tambang (mining) and Inhutani (forestry), were “essentially the terminals through which the state establishes production and work sharing agreements with the foreign companies which make the bulk of investments and carry out production” (Robison 2009: 217).

  10. 10.

    For example, Leith (2002) documents how the Freeport copper mine was a lucrative source of patronage for President Suharto. Also see Robison (2009).

  11. 11.

    The Philippines was once one of the world’s top exporters of copper and gold but by the turn of the twenty-first century, its production had declined significantly.

  12. 12.

    In 1993, the Philippines’ total debt servicing cost was just under 9% of its gross national income (World Bank Data 2019a).

  13. 13.

    See, e.g. ASEAN (2016). For a discussion on regulatory regionalism, see Jones and Hameiri, this volume.

  14. 14.

    The race for Asia’s resources was also fed by the depletion of mineral reserves in other regions of the world, which raised commodity prices in the first decade of the 2000s, and by new technologies that allowed investors to venture further into previously untapped markets.

  15. 15.

    For an analysis of resource politics in Asia-Pacific, see Wilson (2017).

  16. 16.

    2014 is the most recent year for which USGS data are available.

  17. 17.

    These include Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold, BHP Billiton, MMG, Glencore Xstrata, Gold Fields, Newmont, Newcrest, Anglo American and Vale.

  18. 18.

    Myanmar embarked on legal and regulatory reform of its extractive industries in 2011.

  19. 19.

    Well beyond Southeast Asia, human rights reports are bleak for extractive industries. Global Witness highlights that in 2017 alone, 197 environmental activists were murdered, four times the number estimated for 2002 (cited in Watts 2018). Crucially, the non-profit organisation reports that extractive industries were one of the top drivers of such violence (ibid.).

  20. 20.

    In Southeast Asia, the following countries have joined the EITI: Indonesia (in 2010), Myanmar (in 2014), the Philippines (in 2013) and Timor-Leste (in 2008).

  21. 21.

    The implementation of these standards is required for any project in which the IFC invests. However, the standards have since been adopted by several public and private companies on a voluntary basis and are now considered the de facto global standard (see Dashwood 2013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Pascale Hatcher

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Asian and International Studies, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Toby Carroll

  2. School of Political Science and International Studies, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia

    Shahar Hameiri

  3. School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK

    Lee Jones

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Hatcher, P. (2020). The Political Economy of Southeast Asia’s Extractive Industries: Governance, Power Struggles and Development Outcomes. In: Carroll, T., Hameiri, S., Jones, L. (eds) The Political Economy of Southeast Asia. Studies in the Political Economy of Public Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28255-4_13

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