Protest over Investment Projects in Land and Natural Resources

Throughout history, people have been evicted from land and dispossessed from their resources. The workshop investigates when, where, why, and how people have protested (or not) to (re)claim what they consider belonging to them. While we also invite scholars on historical cases, the workshop focuses on contemporary land and resource investments (land, water, green, etc. grabbing) and the various transnational actors involved. At the turn of the 21st century, investments by multinational companies and the regulation by some international organizations have often fueled conflicts over land and natural resources. At the same time, other international organizations, transnational advocacy networks, and many (I)NGOs have sought to create awareness and support the dispossessed.

The presentations should deal with some of these aspects. In particular, the conveners appreciate paper presentations that

· investigate the various forms and dynamics of protest ranging from non-violent claim-making via everyday resistance to full-scale
insurgency as well as the absence of protest over land and other resources,

· address how dispossession and/or protest has affected communities and especially how it has re-shaped political, economic, social, and
cultural orders,

· take a focus on various levels from the local to the transnational arena and also their interplay,

· review meaning of and the meaning-making (e.g. framing) within protest,

· look at international law and the background it can create for framing protest,

· provide an overview and refinement of relevant theories, and

· work on research methodology for the analysis of these subjects.

Presentations of master theses, PhD proposals/projects, and ongoing or completed research projects, or other academic collaborations.
Presentations can be given in either German or English and should take 20 minutes.

Accommodation and Funding Available!

If you do not have funding (from your university, research institute, stipend, etc.), we can cover travel expenses (up to 150€) and provide
accommodation *if* you participate with a paper presentation. For everyone who wants to participate *without* a presentation, we attempt to provide free accommodation with friends and colleagues (you may need to bring a sleeping mat and bag). Please let us know with your registration if you need accommodation in Tübingen and travel funding!

Program and Venue

Friday 27 November 2015 (evening, from 6 pm): Get Together & Keynote Speech
(tba)

Saturday 28 November 2015 (whole day): Panels (during the day) and Pub
(evening)

Sunday 29 November (morning, upon request): Tübingen City Tour

Venue: Sonderforschungsbereich 923 Bedrohte Ordnungen (Collaborative Research Centre 923 Threatened Order. Societies under Stress), University of Tübingen, Keplerstr. 2, 72074 Tübingen.

Organized by Annette Schramm and Jan Sändig

Registration and Contact

If you want to participate with a paper presentation, please send an abstract (max 400 words) by 2 October 2015 and, if accepted for
presentation, the final paper no later than 20 November. We forward the full program by mid-October.

If you would like to participate without a paper presentation, please register as early as possible and no later than 13 November 2015.

For questions, feel free to contact us!

E-Mail: jan.saendig@uni-tuebingen.de, annette.schramm@uni-tuebingen.de

Further Info

About the Working Group Nature, Resources, and Conflicts of the German Association for Peace and Conflict Studies (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Friedens-und Konfliktforschung, AFK): www.afk-web.de/arbeitskreis-natur-ressour-cen-konflikte.html