An uncertain future - anticipating oil in Uganda

Více o knize

The discovery of oil in Uganda in 2006 promised unprecedented wealth, but development has been sluggish. Over a decade after the initial finds, oil production remains unrealized. During the research period from 2012 to 2015, Uganda's oil potential was still emerging, marked by a sense of waiting characterized by uncertainty. Each passing year extended the timeline, and by 2018, the prospect of oil seemed distant. This work examines this waiting phase as a period of "not-yet-ness," focusing on how Ugandans navigated the anticipated resource wealth and envisioned their futures with oil. It explores the dual narratives of promising prosperity versus potential destruction, highlighting how uncertainty influenced these expectations. Discussions surrounding oil often revolved around its potential as either a blessing or a curse, leaving its true impact ambiguous. Instead of predicting the future, the book analyzes the anticipations and discourses surrounding oil as crucial to resource development. It illustrates how various stakeholders, including the state, oil companies, civil society, and local communities, maneuvered within the oil landscape. The author argues that by articulating their risks, these actors can shape the evolution of oil as a resource and secure their roles in an uncertain petro-future. This ethnography provides one of the first in-depth accounts of Uganda's oil dynamics and the negotiations involved in becoming