Doctoral Dissertation Research: Natural Gas and Development in Bolivia

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Doctoral Dissertation Research: Natural Gas and Development in BoliviaPrincipal Investigator: Jane CollinsCo-Principal Investigator: Brent Z. KaupUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonNatural resource extraction in an era of neoliberal globalization presents a paradox. As firms seek to establish global sourcing regimes, the fact that raw materials are found in naturally pre-determined forms and places constrains the choices such firms have in determining the locations of their extraction activities. Therefore, these firms are, of necessity, forced to face the natural, social, and political difficulties of place that their global strategies attempt to avoid. Examining the case of natural gas extraction in Bolivia, this research will refine sociological theories about neoliberal globalization, natural resource extraction, and social movements by engaging three primary research questions: 1) How have neoliberal economic reforms influenced the opportunities and constraints of the actors within Bolivia's natural gas sector and how have these reforms affected Bolivia's recent hydrocarbon nationalization? 2) How do place-specific social relations affect natural gas extraction and, in turn, how does natural gas extraction affect place-specific social relations? 3) How do the material characteristics of natural gas affect changing political and economic environments? Twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork will be conducted. Data will be collected through interviews, primary documentary sources, and participant observation. Interviews will be conducted with approximately seventy individuals, including government officials involved in the hydrocarbon sector, representatives of extraction firms, and members of social movements engaged in the struggles over Bolivia's gas, and community members in sites of extractionThe particular natural resource and geographic location under study, natural gas in Bolivia, is of great political, economic, and social importance today. In addition to contributing to sociological theories of resource extraction and neoliberalism, an analysis of the complex dynamics unfolding within Bolivia's natural gas sector will inform public policy in Bolivia and will help traditionally underrepresented communities and indigenous groups identify points of leverage through which to negotiate with transnational corporations for mutually beneficial investments.