Mukungwe, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of CongoI am an associate professor in Globalization at the Institute of Development Policy (IOB), University of Antwerp, Belgium. I am co-director of the Centre d’Expertise en Gestion Minière (CEGEMI) at the Université Catholique de Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

My current research interests lie in the global and local development dimensions of extractivist projects, addressing questions about more socially responsible and inclusive forms of globalization. I study, among others, global regulatory systems and development outcomes in the South, informalization processes, ‘linkages‘ and local spillovers from mining activities, labour markets in the extractive industries, technological transformations and upgrading. I am coordinating a FWO-funded project ‘Driving Change. Putting small-scale producers in the driver’s seat of battery mineral supply chain regulation’ (2022-2025). I have previously coordinated the FWO project ‘InforMining. An in depth study of informalization processes in global gold production’ (2018-2021) and a subproject of the FWO-EOS project ‘Winners and losers from globalization and market integration. Insights from micro data’ (2018-2021).

Previously my research has focused on the political economy/ political ecology of mining, looking at how benefits and power are distributed, as well as how practices and interactions are regulated and governed. While my PhD studied artisanal gold mining in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo through the lens of ‘access theory’, my post-doctoral project (FWO fellowship) focused on hybrid governance and company-community relations in large-scale gold projects in the DRC and in Ghana.

I have published numerous articles in academic journals such as  World Development, Geoforum, African Affairs, Journal of Modern African Studies, Journal of Eastern African Studies, European Journal of Development Research, Resources Policy, The Extractive Industries and Society and Futures (see profile on University of AntwerpResearchGate and GoogleScholar). I have published policy briefs and working papers in English, French and Spanish. I have done consultancy work for international organizations and have given expert advice on the issue of artisanal mining and conflict minerals in the DRC. I am co-editor of the book Global gold production touching ground. Expansion, informalization, and technological innovation (Palgrave). I am the author of African artisanal mining from the inside out. Access, norms and power in the Congolese gold sector (Routledge), which has been reviewed here.

I am/have been teaching the courses ‘Global Organization of Production’, ‘Access to (Labour and Product) Markets’, ‘Transformative methodologies in development’ and ‘Qualitative Data Analysis’ in the Master in Globalization and Development at IOB. I am also teaching ‘Qualitative Research Design’ and ‘Governance of mineral resources: a Global Value Chain Approach’ at the Catholic University of Bukavu in the DRC.