The Department of Political Science presents

"Neoliberalism, the Rule of Law, and Global Governance: A Case Study of the Chad Pipeline Project"
with Siba Grovogui, Professor, Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University

Friday, May 16, 2014
2:00-3:30 p.m.
Social Science Plaza A, Room 2112

Grovogui is in residence at UCI this quarter as part of the Dean’s Social Sciences Visiting Professorship Program.

About the talk: After decades of neglect, jurists, social scientists, and ethicists have regained interest in the rule of law – particularly the connections between political and legal institutions and freedom and prosperity. This interest is also connected to the idea of a global responsibility to implement justice (through the implementation of law-like systems of rules and processes) in the context of large infrastructural projects such as the Chad Oil and Pipeline Project. Indeed, the Chad Pipeline project was conceived by the World Bank as an experiment to determine whether, when subjected to certain law-like systems of rules, an extractive industry can serve as the foundation for national development, poverty reduction, and improvements in living conditions in one of the world’s poorest countries. This talk is a preliminary reflection based on 10 years of research on the Chad project, with three aims: 1) to examine the rules, procedures, and mechanisms incorporated in the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) and the Capacity-Building Plan (CPB) against mineral notions of rights and constitutional principles associated with the rule of law; 2) to explore how the World Bank, the oil consortium, and the state understood and incorporated the rules and procedures of the EMP and CBP into their activities; and 3) to record and map the effects of the operations of the EMP and CBP on existing social and legal systems which, in turn, affect citizens’ experience and appreciation of the social good, particularly justice.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Law, Society, and Culture, the Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality, the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, the Department of Anthropology, and the Institute for International, Global and Regional Studies

For further information, please contact Graeme Boushey, gboushey@uci.edu.