International Seabed Authority biannual talks close with, once again, no mining code to permit commercial exploitation in international waters. US position seems increasingly out of step with most. oceanographicmagazine.com/news/deep-se...

Deep-sea mining talks end without a framework... again - Oceanographic

Talks at International Seabed Authority end with deep-sea mining framework incomplete, gaps unresolved and compliance inquiry ongoing.

oceanographicmagazine.com

An extraordinary new novel from the extraordinary and prolific @LeoZeilig - a mix of memoir and fiction that tells of a world on the cusp of radical change. Read an extract here: roape.net/2026/07/24/t... Then order it here: editorhousefacility.com/books/the-wi...

The Winter Circus | ROAPE

The Present Unknown to many in the Global North, insurgent forces now held the power in the Global South, in Africa, in lands once the playthings of imperialist armies – the French, British and Americ...

roape.net

Hi everyone 👋🏼 Who are the major IR &/or IPE scholars writing about any or all of the below, mainstream or critical: a) collapse of the liberal order b) shift from unipolarity to multipolarity c) intensifying US-China competition Any suggestions very welcome - thanks!

The Trump administration has proposed a deep-sea mining lease sale in federal waters near American Samoa, marking what would be the world’s first attempt to commercially mine the seabed. In an overseas US territory. Where else? oceanographicmagazine.com/news/first-d...

First deep-sea mining lease 'being forced on Pacific communities' - Oceanographic

Trump has announced the world's first proposed commercial deep-sea mining lease sale in Pacific waters near American Samoa.

oceanographicmagazine.com

Some thoughts on deep-sea mining in the Pacific which, in spite of all resistance, looks like it's coming our way soon(ish). Was fun to write this with superstar @cdsbath.bsky.social student Imogen Eagles based on some research we did together this year. www.developmentresearch.eu?p=2630

The Shifting Geopolitics of Deep-Sea Mining in the Pacific Islands Region: an Industry Poised to Emerge?

By Ben Radley and Imogen Eagles The ocean’s seabed contains vast deposits of minerals deemed critical for green transition technologies, military defence systems and AI hardware, among other uses. …

developmentresearch.eu

"There is a concern held by civil society observers (..) that moratorium positions represent more of a ‘wait and see’ attitude from regional governments, as opposed to a firm stance against the industry." ✍️ @radleyben.bsky.social & Imogen Eagles in our latest blog www.developmentresearch.eu?p=2630

The Shifting Geopolitics of Deep-Sea Mining in the Pacific Islands Region: an Industry Poised to Emerge?

By Ben Radley and Imogen Eagles The ocean’s seabed contains vast deposits of minerals deemed critical for green transition technologies, military defence systems and AI hardware, among other uses. …

developmentresearch.eu

This is a huge book! At a simply ludicrous price - it makes mine look cheap! I wrote a chapter in it about cobalt nationalism & structural transformation in Indonesia 🇮🇩 & the Congo 🇨🇩. DM me if interested & I'll send you a pre-print. www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/han...

Handbook of Resource Nationalism

‘This is a much-needed collection for understanding the pressing intersections of sovereignty, nationalism and resource politics. Geographically, theoretically and empirically diverse, it is both an i...

e-elgar.com

🚨New journal issue alert! Volume 53 Issue 188 June 2026 War Pages: 129-279 Issue Editor: Ray Bush All articles, briefings and debates available to access, read and download for free from anywhere in the world 👇🏿 mailchi.mp/3d77c8c31fc4...

A 10-minute US propaganda video on 'Why the Cook Islands are exploring their deep ocean' which I think managed to avoid any mention of the real reason why: to mine it. Quite impressive. nz.usembassy.gov/the-opportun...

The Opportunity Matters - Why the Cook Islands Are Exploring Their Deep Ocean

Why the Cook Islands Are Exploring Their Deep Ocean

nz.usembassy.gov

Guerrilla History w/ Adnan( @adnanhusain.bsky.social )Husain & Henry Hakamaki "Mining the Congo w/ Josaphat Musamba, Germain Ngoie Tshibambe, & Ben( @radleyben.bsky.social )Radley (AR&D Ep.10)" podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

Mining the Congo w/ Josaphat Musamba, Germain Ngoie Tshibambe, & Ben Radley (AR&D Ep.10)

Podcast Episode · Guerrilla History · October 31, 2025 · 2h 33m

podcasts.apple.com

The US continues to go hard as it seeks to kickstart deep-sea mining. Last week, the US ambassador to New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa commented: "Critical minerals, and particularly in the Cooks, is either 1A or 1B of my priorities." www.miningweekly.com/article/us-e...

US envoy says Cook Islands minerals are a top priority

The new US ambassador to New Zealand and several Pacific island nations said on Friday that securing Cook Islands seabed minerals was a top priority, and that China's push for influence in the Pacific...

miningweekly.com

Guam is a US territory in the Pacific where Trump hopes to scale up deep-sea mining fast. This is how the US deals with Guam's efforts to resist: "The US won't even stick around when we're giving our statement. They literally get up and walk out of the room." www.postguam.com/news/local/u...

US snubs Guam at UN decolonization talks

Every time Guam's representatives finish addressing the United Nations Fourth Committee on decolonization, the United States delegation walks in. The message, according to Guam's top decolonization of...

postguam.com

The Cook Islands is pushing forward with deep-sea mining in its sovereign waters. Here, Te Ipukarea Society pushes back, asking "if the costs outweigh the profits, who really stands to benefit, and who gets left to deal with the environmental fallout?" www.cookislandsnews.com/internal/opi...

Te Ipukarea Society: Will deep-seabed mining make Cook Islanders rich? - Cook Islands News

For years, Cook Islanders have been told that the minerals on our seabed will make our nation rich. But a growing body of independent evidence shows that deep seabed mining is not the economic miracle...

cookislandsnews.com

Detailed analysis on how the US is expediting the process to start deep-sea mining by removing social and environmental regulatory safeguards. From @mongabay.com news.mongabay.com/2026/06/expe...

Experts say ‘bare bones’ US laws are unfit to regulate nascent deep-sea mining industry

This is part 2 of a two-part series examining the U.S.’s efforts to begin deep-sea mining in federal waters. Part 2 examines the regulations that would govern the industry. Part 1 explored the process...

news.mongabay.com

Thanks to @regstud.bsky.social for funding our new research network on Uneven & Combined Transitions, w @lorena-lombardozzi.bsky.social, @susannewman.bsky.social & others not on here! Website, mailing list & webinar series to come in early 2027! Full info here: www.regionalstudies.org/news/uct-ejgs/

Another big step in the US' unilateral push to launch a deep-sea mining industry, as plans for domestic processing facilities announced. oceanminingintel.com/news/industr...

Glomar Minerals And Cobalt Blue Name Four Finalists For First US Polymetallic Nodule Processing Facility - Ocean Mining Intel

Glomar Minerals and Cobalt Blue Holdings Limited have shortlisted four sites in Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas for Project Infinity, a facility that would become the first US polymetallic nodule...

oceanminingintel.com

A reminder that ROAPE is looking for two affiliates to join the journal’s Editorial Working Group for a year starting from September 2026. Please apply by 9 June - all details are in the post! roape.net/2026/05/12/r...

Introducing an open access special issue on reparations & global health, Lebohang Liepollo Pheko argues that if the 19th century was the era of abolition & the 20th century of decolonisation (however incomplete), then the 21st century must be the era of repair. roape.net/2026/06/10/t...

The body keeps the score | ROAPE

Before there was a Commission, there were generations who died too young – not because of bad genes, but because of stolen land, unpaid labour, and a minority world that extracted everything it could ...

roape.net

🚨New special issue on mining, green transitions & uneven development in the global South. This thread links to the 18 contributions, introduced here along with my fellow guest editors @cdsbath.bsky.social Roy Maconachie, @yixiansun.bsky.social & Aidan Barlow: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Writing for roape.net, @sofiannaceur.bsky.social argues that the notion of ‘border management’ is rooted in counterinsurgency & pacification tactics, & embodies nothing but merging migration control & labor extraction into a single, neocolonial concept. roape.net/2026/05/06/t...

Why does studying global development and international relations often feel stuck in the past? ✨ New paper urges a shift beyond stereotypes towards a fuller understanding of Africa. Cynthia Kamwengo, Newnham College & @radleyben.bsky.social , @cdsbath.bsky.social buff.ly/eLkpxLr

An excellent and timely intervention from @drlandislife.bsky.social, deconstructing self-determination narratives around Senegal's recent move to pass homophobic legislation by highlighting the internal political dynamics & external US interests at play. roape.net/2026/03/17/b...

Bodies under surveillance in Senegal’s governance crisis | ROAPE

Let us be honest about what happened on 12 March 2026. Senegal's National Assembly voted to raise the maximum prison sentence for same-sex relations to ten years and to criminalise the "promotion" or ...

roape.net

A powerful interview and testimony from Momodou Taal in @roapejournal.bsky.social, kicked out of the US for his pro-Palestine activism, connecting the Palestinian struggle to a longer history of Black, African and anti-imperial resistance roape.net/2026/02/25/o...

Opposing genocide in the twenty-first century: an interview with Momodou Taal - ROAPE

Has opposing genocide become a threat to public safety? At a time when imperial offensives no longer bother to cloak themselves in justificatory rhetoric, doctoral student and activist Momodou Taal is...

roape.net

ust a reminder that I'll be talking on green imperialism in the Congo tomorrow at 1PM GMT as part of a @devcomms.bsky.social & @eadi.bsky.social webinar series. The link to register for the event can be found below... bsky.app/profile/radl...

Ben Radley@radleyben.bsky.social · 6mo ago

In a few weeks' time, I'll be talking online at a @devcomms.bsky.social-@eadi.bsky.social webinar about green imperialism in #Congo 🇨🇩, drawing on some of the ideas I wrote on the topic a few years ago (www.scienceopen.com/hosted-docum...). You can sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dsa-eadi-w...

DSA-EADI Working Group Webinar Series 2026: Talk by @radleyben.bsky.social about the dynamics of green imperialism in the Congo. 📅 26 February 2026 @eadi.bsky.social Find out more and sign up here: buff.ly/Yyy13jm

In a few weeks' time, I'll be talking online at a @devcomms.bsky.social-@eadi.bsky.social webinar about green imperialism in #Congo 🇨🇩, drawing on some of the ideas I wrote on the topic a few years ago (www.scienceopen.com/hosted-docum...). You can sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dsa-eadi-w...

In a few weeks time, I'll be talking online at a @devcomms -@EADI webinar about the dynamics of green imperialism in #Congo 🇨🇩, drawing on some of the ideas in a paper I wrote on the topic a few years ago (scienceopen.com/hosted-documen t?doi=10.1080/03056244.2023.2277616 ). You can sign up here:

Some important analysis in @ROAPEjournal on how recent DRC-US agreements tie Kinshasa to Washington's strategic priorities, coming the day after Glencore announced it's selling 40% stake in its DRC copper & cobalt mines to a US government-backed group. roape.net/2026/02/04/t...

The price of peace: US strategy and the DRC’s critical minerals - ROAPE

Antonia Baumgartner argues that behind the promise of peace, a set of recent US-backed agreements have reshaped how the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s minerals, infrastructure, and political choic...

roape.net

Registration is open for the 1st webinar on 26 February! "Green imperialism, sovereignty, and the quest for national development in the Congo", with @radleyben.bsky.social www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dsa-eadi-w...

EADI@eadi.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Save the dates! Our joint working group with @devcomms.bsky.social on land, labour and food has some interesting webinars in the pipeline, further details and registration links will follow soon! ✏️ it in your 📅!

Some excellent fresh empirical analysis here that succinctly paints a very clear picture bsky.app/profile/roap...

Review of African Political Economy @roapejournal.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Writing for ROAPE, and drawing on original empirical data from eight African countries, Robin Jaspert argues that the profits reaped out of Africa flow into the hands of foreign capitalists mostly located in the global North. roape.net/2026/01/14/i...