ABSTRACT
Large-scale mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, characterised by limited statehood, does not fit neatly into classical property rights theory. Institutional change is messy and unlikely to be as simple as a government setting aside a concession for a mining company. The persistence of contestation around mining sites is a sign that overlapping claims to rights over resources, the emergence and reconfiguration of coalitions around property rights enforcement, and resistance and conflict are likely to persist, companies’ efforts to implement corporate social responsibility notwithstanding. The theoretical discussion is complemented by empirical evidence from the DRC and Zambia.
