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THE STRUGGLE FOR AUTONOMY Seeing gold and forest like a local government in Northern Burkina Faso Muriel Côte A dissertation submitted to the College of Science and Engineering in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the School of Geosciences. The University of Edinburgh July 2014 Declaration of own work I declare that the following thesis has been entirely composed by myself. It has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Muriel Côte Date 17.12.2014 Word count: 98,000 i Abstract This thesis seeks to clarify the role that democratic decentralisation reforms play in dynamics of state building in developing societies where states are often qualified as weak. Within the literature, on natural resource management, democratic decentralisation is seen to either erode public authority in favour of non-state actors, or to strengthen it, as a repertoire of domination hiding an illegitimate re- centralisation of control. In the light of these contradictory statements, I propose positing the exercise of public authority as an empirical question. Situating my work within geography and anthropology, I examine the exercise of public authority, that I call institutional power, in a context of competing claims to gold and forest resources in the commune of Séguénéga in North Burkina Faso. An analysis of the way overlapping and competing institutions of power relate in the everyday in the field of decentralisation brings to light the significance of autonomy, and I argue that the relevance of the state is enhanced under decentralisation through the politics of autonomy. Three concepts are mobilised to make this case. Regulation sheds light on the fact that the forms of institutional power over gold and woodfuel are characterised by the degree of autonomy that they enjoy vis-à-vis government. Recognition as a concept queries the durability of institutional power. It shows that where the rule of law weak, or where autonomy vis-à-vis the rule of law in greater, institutions of power emerge from the relations of recognition between government and non- government sanctioned institutions of power. As these institutions operate at the twilight of lawfulness and lawlessness, the democratic decentralisation reform presents an opportunity for these institutions to increase their authority. This claim is made through the operation of the concept of political field. I show that democratic decentralisation has created a democratic field, which is semi-autonomous from the bureaucratic and customary fields. As institutions of power struggle for authority over gold and forest resources in the democratic field, a particular kind of politics emerges and is articulated around claims of autonomy. Through the politics of autonomy, the rule of law is recognised by both state and non-state sanctioned institutions of power, and the state is being built. ii Lay summary of the thesis This is a brief summary intended to facilitate knowledge transfer and enhance accessibility to a general audience. It is a requirement of the General Postgraduate Degree Programme Regulations (these are available via http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk) Name of Candidate: Muriel Côte UUN S0966808 University email: [email protected] Address : Political geography Winterthurstr. 130 Zurich Post Code: 8057 Degree Sought: Doctorate No. of words 98,000 Title of Thesis: The struggle for autonomy: Seeing forest and gold like a local government in North Burkina Faso A concern has emerged in recent years about the intensification of resource conflicts in developing societies, particularly in Africa. These conflicts are often explained as a consequence of incremental factors, such as population growth and environmental abudance or scarcity, but for some time they have also been connected to narratives of ‘bad governance’. At the heart of concerns over bad governance is the perceived breakdown of the rule of law, and the failure of the nation-state to exercise public authority over people and territory, a state of affairs often characterised as the manifestation of a ‘weak state’. Burkina Faso is a typical case of such a representation of ‘weak state’, where government-sanctioned institutions are unable to carry out their mandate, and where the rule of law is perceived to carry little relevance in the everyday. How then does a ‘Burkinabè state’ continue to exist in a context where the rule of law is weak? The thesis examines this questions through two national polices that aim to address contentious resource politics by improving governance. The first one is the formalisation of local rights over resources, and the second is to ‘bring government closer to citizens’ through a democratic decentralisation reform that devolves greater governance power to local elected governments. In this thesis I examines the extent to which these policies transform the nature of competition over resource production, particularly regarding the relevance of the rule of law. The study is based on an examination of the competition over the production of gold and woodfuel resources comparatively in North Burkina Faso, in the municipality of Séguénéga. The analysis shows that while the rule of law continues to be weak in the production of these resources, the fact that thcompetition over public authority takes place in the field of decentralisation enhances the relevance of statutory frameworks for the governance of resources. The argument is brought forward through an analysis of the extent to which resource production fits with national legislative frameworks, and in cases when it does not, understanding why. It is argued that the failure of resource formalisation schemes has allowed a diversity of non-state actors to make claims to authority over the production of these resources. When these claims meet with those of local government officials on the ground, they are negotiated on the terrain of decentralisation, providing a field that effectively accommodates overlapping claims. This accommodation is not consensual however and the comparative analysis between gold and woodfuel resources reveals that accommodation is the product of a particular kind of contentious resource politics, one that emerges around the struggle for autonomy vis-à-vis state power, thereby unexpectedly increasing its relevance in the everyday. iii Acknowledgments This PhD project has been a journey up a beautiful but sinuous mountainside. It would not have been possible without the trust and contribution from generous benefactors. The ESRC provided most of the support, particularly for difficult language training, which gave me the opportunity to do the ethnographic work I had always dreamed of. The contribution of Derek and Maureen Mosse has also been invaluable. Without their support I would have never made it back and forth to the West African bush. Many thanks to Paul Nugent and Antonio Ioris for accepting to pick up this work half-way up the hill, and for patiently offering valuable comments on tiresome drafts. A number of colleagues have been valuable road companions. I am grateful to the colleagues at the Sociology Department in Ouagadougou, particularly Pepin Hien, Sylvette Dabiré, Zongo and Somé, for sharing not only crucial insights but also an academic shelter in seemingly homeless times. Special thanks to the number of colleagues from the Responsive Forest Governance Initiative, and to James Murombedzi and Jesse Ribot for putting us all in touch. Exchanges with the RGFI team have opened my eyes to the singularities and typicalities of my fieldwork sites. They were incommensurably instructive detours up the mountain. Many thanks to the postgrads at Edinburgh also, at both Geography and African Studies, but especially to colleagues at Göteborg, for the much valued support towards the late writing phase. This work could not have gotten together without the time and trust generously offered by many people in Séguénéga and in Ouagadougou. Mammadou Beloum, Boukary Zallé and Madi Ouedraogo in particular provided a valuable map to negotiate the mountainside. Importantly this work would not have been possible had Séguénéga not become a home for me without them. This is also greatly thanks to the generosity and care of Noufou and Estelle. Djami has been a wonderful research companion, and I would not have gotten the insights without her patience and wits. A special thought here to Adama Sawadogo. May the earth be light above him. Enormous thanks to Peikko, Wolfgang, Vilho and to Davide, for making sure that red little engine kept making it round the bends. My thanks to Andrea Nightingale can hardly be formulated in words. This thesis