Unearthing extractive subjects: Power and subjectivity at the extractive frontier

Abstract

Work in political ecology and related fields emphasizes the importance of subjectivities to understand power relations and dynamics in nature-society interactions. In practice, though, few studies provide detailed analyses of subject formation. Moreover, the role of subjectivities has remained underexplored in the literature on resource frontiers. This special issue addresses these gaps, exploring processes of subject formation in relation to the material practices, discourses, and governance arrangements of resource extraction in frontier settings. This introductory essay reviews conceptual debates on subjectivities in political ecology and identifies the diverse ways that papers in the issue engage with these debates. It focuses on four thematic areas: 1) subject formation in relation to shifting political economies of extraction; 2) interactions between subject formation “from above” and “from below”; 3) subjectivities and/in emotional geographies; and 4) the spatiotemporal scales of extractive subject formation. The essay concludes by identifying avenues for future research on resource extraction and subjectivities, arguing that a focus on subjectivities can help advance political ecology research across the board.