On 20 September 2019, Ben Radley was granted a distinction for his PhD thesis entitled 'Mining Industrialisation in the African Periphery: Disruption and Dependency in South Kivu, DRC'
In his thesis, Ben investigated the theoretical foundations of the African Minerals Consensus. This consensus is founded on the general premise that African low-income countries should leverage their comparative advantage in minerals to drive productivity growth through TNC-led mining (re)industrialization.
His finds three interrelated critiques of the African Minerals Consensus:
- He challenges the wisdom of overlooking the potential of artisanal mining
- He refutes the claim by consensus proponents that new mining industry practices render enclave concerns obsolete
- He questions the assumption that modern corporations will be more efficient and effective at leading mining industrialization than the state-owned enterprises that preceded them, or existing artisanal alternatives.
Photos and video of the defence
Take a look at some of the photos taken during the public defence
The full text of the thesis will be available shortly in the ISS Library
