Gendered extraction in Sudan: how extractive economic activities exacerbate conflict in an era of great power competition

From gold mining to oil drilling, extractive economic activities are contributing to the number of intrastate conflicts in Africa at a time of growing competition among great powers. Research has provided evidence that extractive industries are responsible for a significant number of contemporary conflicts in the Global South. At the same time, feminist political economy has made important contributions showing the gendered nature of such extractive economic activities. Despite myriad bodies of literature on extractive activities and their impact on political and economic stability, scholarship has yet to explain the gendered relationship between the current era of increased foreign economic activities and local conflict dynamics. This article interrogates the gendered ways in which extractive economic activities of third-party actors may increase the occurrence of intrastate conflict in fragile African states through increased local, militarised competition. By utilising an in-case process tracing methodology that seeks to centre the agency of local actors, this article demonstrates how third-party extractive economic activities, with a focus on gold mining, have contributed to the occurrence of conflict in Sudan.