Dr Roy Maconachie awarded British Academy grant for new research project
26 March 2012
Dr Roy Maconachie, a Lecturer in International Development, has won a grant from the British Academy to run a project entitled 'Youth livelihoods, activism and extractive industry in Sierra Leone'.
Project summary
Over the past decade, neoliberal reforms, soaring commodity prices and heightened global resource demands have led to significant growth in extra active industry investment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A surge of investment has triggered a variety of responses in mineral-rich communities - from outright rejection, to protest over labour conditions, to acceptance in anticipation of gainful employment.
This project seeks to understand how changing global-economic patterns and processes are shaping livelihood opportunities for young people in resource-rich SSA.
Focusing on the case of Sierra Leone, the research will provide an extended analysis of contrasting youth perceptions of, and responses toward, extractive industry expansion. The focus on youth, and its heterogeneity as a social category, has important policy implications and will improve understanding of the dynamics and diversity of livelihood strategies in resource-rich developing countries. It will also contribute significantly to an otherwise thin literature on youth mobilisation, chronic poverty and livelihoods in rural SSA.
Further information
For more information about the project, please contact Dr Roy Maconachie,
E-mail: r.maconachie@bath.ac.uk | Tel: 01225 38 4524
