The making of Uganda’s oil: An exploration of subnational dynamics in an emerging East African oil frontier

How the extractive industries contribute to development outcomes continues to be an important question in light of continued promotion of the extraction model as a development strategy for countries in the global south. Oil is seen as posing a particular challenge in the context of the post-colonial Sub-Saharan African state, having been linked to conflict, authoritarianism and deepening inequalities. The literature has tended to focus on national scales of analyses and the struggles that take place over oil as revenues, rather than focus on the social and political transformations taking place prior to oil becoming a resource and the ways these might shape and constrain development outcomes. The thesis seeks to contribute to understandings of subnational dynamics in a new Sub-Saharan African oil context. I use an assemblage approach, bringing together a focus on materialities, ideas, practices and agency to analyse the emergence of Uganda’s oil assemblage in the pre-oil stage of the industry. The study demonstrates the importance of exploring subnational dynamics in the pre-oil stage; it is during this time that the interests of a range of actors are mobilised and shaped, and processes are taking place at the subnational level that have a bearing on equitable outcomes. The study finds that the subnational space is not a passive recipient of a global oil project but plays an active role in shaping the oil assemblage. The findings of the study are presented in three empirical chapters. The first shows that Uganda’s oil assemblage is shaped not only by oil capital, but also the materiality of the resource and ideas about oil. The second empirical chapter builds on this to explore the role of oil MNCs and corporate engagement practices in the oil assemblage. I find that corporate engagement practices and activities are driven and shaped by multiple factors and change over time. While all three companies draw on global norms to craft legitimacy in the resource space, implementation differs considerably, and the subnational space plays an active role in shaping outcomes. The third empirical chapter explores the role of civil society in the oil assemblage. I find that civil society activity on oil and gas is carried out by urban professionalised CSOs and is shaped by a resource governance assemblage, which has implications for outcomes. However, the findings demonstrate that subnational dynamics shape and constrain the role of CSOs at the local level. Rather than a dichotomy between industry on the one hand and local communities supported by civil society on the other, I find that the subnational space in Uganda during exploration is more complex and ambiguous. There are increasing vulnerabilities for some and opportunities for others, and at the same time as subnational actors contest the impacts of the industry, they also seek inclusion. The study generates insights into the more productive processes in frontiers, opportunities for agency, and actor positions that challenge the idea that oil frontiers are characterised solely by the hegemony of oil. The findings have broader relevance for understanding oil and development outcomes in new extractives contexts in the global south and demonstrate the importance of moving beyond a national focus in analyses and beyond a focus on oil as revenues.