Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology and The Ethnographic Collection

Oil and social Change in Niger and Chad

An Anthropological Cooperative Research Project on Technologies, Signification and Processes of Creative Adaption in Relation to African Oil Production

The project is designed as a follow-up to the project "Significations of oil and social change in Niger and Chad" (2011-13). It carries the same title and aims at completing, supplementing, and further developing in empirical and theoretical scope the work and results of the first project phase. The project team has proposed to develop a distinctly anthropological perspective on the social transformations that can currently be observed in the newly emerging oil states of Africa. This distinctly anthropological perspective consists of four key elements of the research setup. First, a methodological focus on real-time observation of social situations and events as they unfold during the early phase of the formation of an oil state and its industry; therefore the choice of Niger and Chad as young African oil states; second, a theoretical focus on processes of social and political interaction between various social categories and groups through which order and significations are produced; third an equally theoretical focus on the core concepts of the PP (notably signification, creativity, translation adaptation, (dis-) order, and technology) that help to bring into field of view hitherto less noticed phenomena and processes related to oil; fourth an organisational focus on collaboration and close exchange of the German research team (from three institutes of Africa-oriented anthropology) with partners from France, Niger and Chad. An explicit focus lies on promoting young African and German scholars.

Main Project
Adaptation and Creativity in Africa - Technologies and Significations in the Production of Order and Disorder



Duration
Project Phase III: 01.03.2015 - 28.02.2017
Project Phase II: 01.03.2013 - 28.02.2015
Project Phase I: 01.03.2011 - 28.02.2013

Team
Dr. Jannik Schritt
Dr. Annika Witte
Dr. Andrea Behrends
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bierschenk
Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan
Prof. Dr. Mahaman Tidjani Alou
Mahamidou Aboubacar Attahirou
Abdoutan Harouna
Salissou Oubandoma
Chama James Tabenyang Tabi

Funding
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Monographs

Witte, Annika (2018): An Uncertain Future - Anticipating Oil in Uganda: Universitätsverlag Göttingen.

Schritt, Jannik (2018): Petro-Democracy. Oil, Power and Politics in Niger. University of Göttingen, Göttingen. Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology. Online verfügbar unter https://ediss.uni-goettingen.de/handle/11858/00-1735-0000-002E-E4A7-B.

Hoinathy, Remadji (2013): Pétrole et changement social au Tchad. Rente pétrolière et monétisation des relations économiques et sociales dans la zone pétrolière de Doba. Paris: Karthala.

Collected Volumes

Schritt, Jannik; Witte, Annika (Hg.) (2023): Oil-age Africa. Critical reflections on oil politics, resource economies and extractive communities. Leiden, Boston: Brill (Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies, volume 29).

Behrends, Andrea, Stephen P. Reyna und Günther Schlee (eds.) (2011): Crude Domination. An Anthropology of Oil. Oxford: Berghahn.

Journal articles

Schritt, Jannik (2021): Janus-faced presidents: extroverted and introverted politics in oil-age Niger. In: Review of African Political Economy 142 (3), S. 1–22. DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2021.1949701.

Schritt, Jannik (2020): Crude talking: radio and the politics of naming, blaming and claiming in oil-age Niger. In: Journal of Contemporary African Studies 38 (3), S. 415–436. DOI: 10.1080/02589001.2020.1800605.

Schritt, Jannik (2019): Dis/ordering politics: urban riots and the socio-political configuration of contemporary Niger. In: The Journal of Modern African Studies 57 (4), S. 613–634. DOI: 10.1017/S0022278X19000521.

Schritt, Jannik (2019): Urban Protest in Oil-Age Niger. Towards a Notion of ‘Contentious Assemblages’. In: Sociologus 69 (1), S. 19–35. DOI: 10.3790/soc.69.1.19.

Schritt, Jannik (2019): Well-Oiled Protest: Adding Fuel to Political Conflicts in Niger. In: Afr. Stud. Rev. 62 (2), S. 49–71. DOI: 10.1017/asr.2018.19.

Schritt, Jannik (2018): Contesting the oil zone: Local content issues in Niger’s oil industry. In: Energy Research & Social Science 41, S. 259–269. DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2018.04.016.

Schritt, Jannik (2018): Crude controversies: Disputes along Niger’s petro-infrastructure. In: History and Anthropology 29 (5), S. 645–669. DOI: 10.1080/02757206.2018.1445625.

Schritt, Jannik; Schareika, Nikolaus (2018): Crude Moves: Oil, Power and Politics in Niger. In: Africa Spectrum 53 (2), S. 65–89

Schritt, Jannik; Witte, Annika (2018): Standardized capitalism? Negotiating the oil industry’s dis/entanglement in Niger and Uganda. In: Economy and Society 47 (3), S. 428–452. DOI: 10.1080/03085147.2018.1533303.

Schareika, Nikolaus (2017): Creative Encounters: African Trade and Chinese Oil Production in Western Chad. In: Soc Anal 61 (3). DOI: 10.3167/sa.2017.610303.

Witte, Annika (2017): Bright Prospects or Ominous Future: Anticipating Oil in Uganda. In: tsantsa 22, S. 18–27.

Behrends, Andrea; Hoinathy, Remadji (2017): The Devil’s Money: A multi-level approach to the disordering in oil-producing southern Chad // The Devil’s Money: A Multi-level Approach to Acceleration and Turbulence in Oil-Producing Southern Chad. In: Social Analysis 61 (3). DOI: 10.3167/sa.2017.610304.

Behrends, Andrea (2016): Kein Segen, nirgends. In: forschung 16 (1), S. 18–23.

Pemunta, Ngambouk Vitalis; Tabenyang, Tabi Chama James (2016): The paradox of petrodollar development: Chad’s military diplomacy in regional and global security. In: South African Journal of International Affairs 23 (3), S. 297–322. DOI: 10.1080/10220461.2016.1240101.

Pemunta, Ngambouk Vitalis; Tabenyang, Tabi Chama James (2016): From hope to dystopia. In: IJDI 15 (1), S. 35–50. DOI: 10.1108/IJDI-09-2015-0056.

Schritt, Jannik (2016): From Nuclear Imperialism to Petro Democracy? Resource assemblages and the emergence of a new political configuration in Niger. In: Canadian Journal of African Studies 50 (2), S. 229–254. DOI: 10.1080/00083968.2016.1202850.

Schritt, Jannik (2016): The petro-political configuration. Entanglements of Western and Chinese oil zones in Niger. In: Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsgeographie 60 (1-2), S. 40–56. DOI: 10.1515/zfw-2015-0583.

Schritt, Jannik (2014): Erdöl und Macht in Niger. In: Welttrends 97, S. 46–52.

Behrends, Andrea und Nikolaus Schareika (2010): Significations of Oil in Africa Or: What (More) Can Anthropologists Contribute to the Study of Oil? In: Soumen Antropologi 35: 83-86.

Behrends, Andrea (2008): Fighting for Oil when there is No Oil Yet. The case of the Chad-Sudan border. In: Focaal 52: 39-56.

Contributions to anthologies

Attahirou, Mahamidou Aboubacar (2023): L’enclave pétrolière de Diffa ? La théorie de la malédiction des ressources et le désenclavement social et économique d’une commune pétrolière au Niger. In: Jannik Schritt und Annika Witte (Hg.): Oil-age Africa. Critical reflections on oil politics, resource economies and extractive communities. Leiden, Boston: Brill (Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies, volume 29), S. 232–252.

Harouna, Abdoutan (2023): Captage régional et politique de la rente pétrolière: Les collectivités territoriales face à la raffinerie du pétrole à Zinder (Niger). In: Jannik Schritt und Annika Witte (Hg.): Oil-age Africa. Critical reflections on oil politics, resource economies and extractive communities. Leiden, Boston: Brill (Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies, volume 29), S. 115–136.

Oubandoma, Salissou; Schritt, Jannik (2023): De l’argent facile ? Pétrole et transformation rurale-urbaine dans la région de Zinder (Niger). In: Jannik Schritt und Annika Witte (Hg.): Oil-age Africa. Critical reflections on oil politics, resource economies and extractive communities. Leiden, Boston: Brill (Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies, volume 29), S. 253–277.

Schritt, Jannik; Behrends, Andrea (2018): ‘Western’ and ‘Chinese’ Oil Zones. Petro-Infrastructures and the emergence of new trans-territorial spaces of order in Niger and Chad. In: Ulf Engel, Marc Boeckler und Detlef Müller-Mahn (Hg.): Spatial Practices. Territory, Border and Infrastructure in Africa. Boston: Brill (Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies), S. 211–230.

Hoinathy, Remadji; Behrends, Andrea (2014): Does rationality travel? Translations of a World Bank model for fair oil revenue distribution in Chad Remadji Hoinathy and Andrea Behrends. In: Andrea Behrends, Sung-Joon Park und Richard Rottenburg (Hg.): Travelling models in African conflict resolution. Translating technologies of social ordering. Leiden: Brill (Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies, volume 13), S. 80–97.

Schritt, Jannik (2013): Transnational Governmentality of Energy Security after 9/11. Coup d’état, Terrorism, Militarization, and Oil in Niger. In: Claudio Colaguori (Hg.): Security, life, and death. Governmentality and biopower in the post 9/11 era. Whitby, Ont: De Sitter Publications, S. 193–244.

Behrends, Andrea und Nikolaus Schareika (2011): Öl, Staat, Ressourcenfluch. In Nikolaus Schareika, Eva Spies und Yves Le Meur (eds) Auf dem Boden der Tatsachen. Festschrift für Thomas Bierschenk, 465-475. Cologne: Köppe Verlag.

Other

Schritt, Jannik (2016): Crude Politics. Oil talk, new media and political scripts in the production of disorder in Zinder (Niger). Hg. v. Ulf Engel und Richard Rottenburg (SPP 1448 Working Paper Series, 17). Online verfügbar unter http://www.spp1448.de/publications/spp-working-paper-series/

Schritt, Jannik (2016): Crude Talking. The politics of naming, blaming and claiming in oil-age Niger. In: Eva Riedke (Hg.): THE ORDERING POWER OF NARRATIVES. Halle & Leipzig (Working Papers of the DFG Priority Programme 1448, 21), S. 29–33.

Schritt, Jannik (2015): Doing fieldwork on oil in Niger. In: Claudia Gebauer, Anna Hünke und Ulf Engel (Hg.): Notes from Within and Without - Research Permits between Requirement and ‘Realities. Halle & Leipzig (Working Papers of the DFG Priority Programme 1448, 16), S. 27–30.

Hoinathy, Remadji (2012): Monetización de los intercambios y relaciones sociales: dinero, matrimonio, parentesco y relaciones de poder. In: IPPM, Luis Vittor, Remadji Hoinathy, Alberto Acosta, Ernest Garcia und Jesús Garcia-Luengos (Hg.): Postextractivismo: alternativas a un modelo agotado. FUHEM Ecosocial. Madrid, S. 16–24.

Hoinathy, Remadji (2011): Monetization of social interrelations in the Chadian oil zone: money at the core of marriage, kin ties and alliances.

Hoinathy, Remadji (2008): Pétrole and changement social: le cas du canton Béro.