High Stakes and Stakeholders

Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producing country. Oil generates enormous wealth but also extensive and devastating conflict in the country. High Stakes and Stakeholders critically explores the oil conflict in Nigeria, its evolution, dynamics and most significantly, the interplay and consequences of high stake politics for the reproduction and persistence of the conflict. It presents a conceptual anatomy of state-oil industry-society relations and demonstrates how the embedded material interests and accumulation patterns of different stakeholders underlie, shape and complicate both the oil conflict and security. In addition, the book provides key insights into comparable conflicts elsewhere in the global south, developing a logical framework for resolving the oil conflict in Nigeria and for reforming the security sector. This book is valuable reading material for courses in international political economy, social ecology, development studies, African politics, conflict and security studies, and environmental law and management. It will also be of interest to policy practitioners, civil societies and the oil industry. Contents: Introduction: the rentier space; The domestic security environment and perspectives on the Nigerian oil conflict; The historical and institutional contexts of the oil conflict; Ahead of the game: Shell's responsiveness to domestic threats; Relatively at ease: ExxonMobil's oil operations and security threats; Chevron's oil operations and security threats: doing business in the 'Battle Frontline'; The state and management of the oil conflict; Key oil stakeholders, security and security sector reform; Discussion and conclusion; Bibliography; Index.