Oil Extraction, Dispossession, Resistance, and Conflict in Nigeria's Oil-Rich Niger Delta

The article analyzes the ways in which globalized oil extraction results in the dispossession of local people and fuels violent resistance in Nigeria's oil-rich, but impoverished Niger Delta. This follows from the transformation of resistance from non-violent to violent forms, involving well-publicized attacks by Niger Delta, ethnic-minority militias against the Nigerian state oil multinationals partnership. The main argument is that oil extraction and the inequitable distribution of its benefits fuel disenchantment and conflict between the Niger Delta people, and those regarded as the exploiters and beneficiaries of the oil resources in the region. It also examines the local and transnational dynamics and ambiguities underpinning resistance politics and the prospects for resolving the contradictions spawned by "fossil fuel capital" in the Niger Delta.