Crude Existence

After decades of civil war and instability, the African country of Angola is experiencing an economic boom thanks to its most valuable natural resource: oil. Focusing on the everyday realities of people living in the extraction zones, this work explores the exclusion, degradation and violence that are the fruits of petrocapitalism in Angola.

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After decades of civil war and instability, the African country of Angola is experiencing a spectacular economic boom thanks to its most valuable natural resource: oil. But oil extraction - both on and offshore - is a toxic remedy for the country's economic ills, with devastating effects on both the environment and traditional livelihoods. Focusing on the everyday realities of people living in the extraction zones, Kristin Reed explores the exclusion, degradation, and violence that are the fruits of petrocapitalism in Angola.