Dr Randi Irwin

Sahrawi refugees and the Sahrawi state-in-exile have sought to assert their claims to Western Sahara, Africa's last colony, while exiled in refugee camps in Algeria. Through an examination of the Sahrawi state's use of deferred natural resource contracts, this article explores Sahrawi political action prior to¿¿ and in anticipation of¿¿ the referendum on self-determination. I suggest that Sahrawi-led natural resource contracts operate as a technical financial device that constructs property and enables political action in the anticipation of sovereignty. Through these contracts, the state works to simultaneously produce both itself and its sovereignty. This article explores the new political and economic forms generated by these contracts, which subsequently create a political terrain by which otherwise inaccessible, seemingly off-limits, resources become productive spaces of opportunity for the development and exercise of sovereignty in the present.

This article considers the case of the NM Cherry Blossom, a bulk carrier that docked in South Africa loaded with phosphate cargo from Western Sahara. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic argued that the phosphate cargo was pillaged from the non-self-governing territory, and a South African court set out to determine ownership. This article analyses South Africa's recognition of the Sahrawi state's sovereignty as it pertains to determining the ownership of the phosphate in question. This recognition subsequently creates legal and political possibilities based on sovereignty that is not mediated through or reliant upon the United Nations. I argue that we must attend to jurisdictional histories and contexts in order to consider the scope of new political possibilities for decolonisation struggles.

Despite the worsening climate crisis and market shifts towards decarbonization, Australia remains heavily invested in carbon-intensive activities. As one of the world's largest exporters of coal and gas, Australian political economy has been dominated over the last several decades by fossil fuel expansionism. In this article, we explore how Australian corporate and political elites have defended the continuation of fossil fuel extraction and use in the face of calls for a transition to a low-carbon energy future. Through an analysis of public statements by industry associations, corporate leaders, politicians and trade union officials, we identify how these actors have constructed a hegemonic temporal narrative stressing the historical importance of fossil fuels and that a transition to renewable energy represents a threat to Australia's future. Our analysis contributes to the growing literature within the field of industrial relations attending to the complex industrial dynamics underlying the maintenance of fossil fuel hegemony. We also contribute to recent discussions on hegemony by demonstrating the importance of temporality in linking diverse actors together in defending hegemony. Finally, we highlight the critical importance of corporate power in fundamentally shaping climate and energy politics.