Comments on: Darfur and the New Scramble for Africa? http://blogs.ssrc.org/darfur/2009/07/09/darfur-and-the-new-scramble-for-africa/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:36:10 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Alex de Waal http://blogs.ssrc.org/darfur/2009/07/09/darfur-and-the-new-scramble-for-africa/comment-page-1/#comment-4151 Alex de Waal Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:03:01 +0000 http://blogs.ssrc.org/darfur/?p=950#comment-4151 Dear Sean, This blog is open to a wide range of opinions. I reviewed the Burr and Collins book on its (re-)release. Perhaps you would like to contribute a review of the book and its themes and prompt a discussion? Alex Dear Sean,

This blog is open to a wide range of opinions. I reviewed the Burr and Collins book on its (re-)release. Perhaps you would like to contribute a review of the book and its themes and prompt a discussion?

Alex

]]> By: sean http://blogs.ssrc.org/darfur/2009/07/09/darfur-and-the-new-scramble-for-africa/comment-page-1/#comment-4146 sean Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:37:42 +0000 http://blogs.ssrc.org/darfur/?p=950#comment-4146 I know you want the site to remain up-to-date, but is this book really worth discussing on here? Wouldn't your readers be better served by a discussion of older works with more scholarly value? Like a discussion of the new(ish) edition of the Burr and Collins book on the region? I know you want the site to remain up-to-date, but is this book really worth discussing on here? Wouldn’t your readers be better served by a discussion of older works with more scholarly value? Like a discussion of the new(ish) edition of the Burr and Collins book on the region?

]]> By: Matthew Sinn http://blogs.ssrc.org/darfur/2009/07/09/darfur-and-the-new-scramble-for-africa/comment-page-1/#comment-4143 Matthew Sinn Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:49:48 +0000 http://blogs.ssrc.org/darfur/?p=950#comment-4143 Fake and Funk fall easily into the same trap as Mamdani when asserting that oil options in the Darfur region are a primary concern for American policymakers: they make accusations without also providing credible substantiation. Indeed, Mamdani points to petrol politics not in Darfur itself, but in neighboring Chad, implying that the mere possibility of profitable drilling has kindled a fire under the Washington and Wall Street elite. Both these analyses are disconcerting in their single-mindedness. The authors take no pains to examine the potential pitfalls of investment in Sudan's oil wealth, real or imagined. The case of Talisman Energy, which was ultimately driven out of the Sudanese marketplace, suggests that the public relations costs of business in this particular zone of conflict, particularly in an era when so much of the picture is framed by activism - may outweigh the financial benefits. Fake and Funk fall easily into the same trap as Mamdani when asserting that oil options in the Darfur region are a primary concern for American policymakers: they make accusations without also providing credible substantiation. Indeed, Mamdani points to petrol politics not in Darfur itself, but in neighboring Chad, implying that the mere possibility of profitable drilling has kindled a fire under the Washington and Wall Street elite.

Both these analyses are disconcerting in their single-mindedness. The authors take no pains to examine the potential pitfalls of investment in Sudan’s oil wealth, real or imagined. The case of Talisman Energy, which was ultimately driven out of the Sudanese marketplace, suggests that the public relations costs of business in this particular zone of conflict, particularly in an era when so much of the picture is framed by activism – may outweigh the financial benefits.

]]> By: Abdallah Khalil http://blogs.ssrc.org/darfur/2009/07/09/darfur-and-the-new-scramble-for-africa/comment-page-1/#comment-4141 Abdallah Khalil Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:45:58 +0000 http://blogs.ssrc.org/darfur/?p=950#comment-4141 Dear Alex. The greatest complexity with the conflict in Darfur is that it has never been understood in a sound and objective fashion. For any part of the conflict it is being understood in a way that serves thier objectives and motives behind being a conflict party. If over the next few months the Making Sense of Darfur forum enable us to form a profound and proper understanding of the conflict in Darfur, then this will be the greatest contribution it makes to assist normalizing the situation in that region. Dear Alex. The greatest complexity with the conflict in Darfur is that it has never been understood in a sound and objective fashion. For any part of the conflict it is being understood in a way that serves thier objectives and motives behind being a conflict party. If over the next few months the Making Sense of Darfur forum enable us to form a profound and proper understanding of the conflict in Darfur, then this will be the greatest contribution it makes to assist normalizing the situation in that region.

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