The responsible cobalt sourcing assemblage: Thinking through a booming governance framework

Abstract

Since around 2016, the world has seen a mushrooming of so-called ‘responsible cobalt sourcing’ initiatives, aiming to tackle a series of human rights and (child) labour concerns around the artisanal and small-scale (ASM) mines in Lualaba province, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These initiatives include state-led efforts, such as the launch of the Entreprise Générale du Cobalt and the inauguration of the Musompo Trading Centre, as well as industry-led initiatives, such as the Fair Cobalt Alliance, Mutoshi Pilot Project, and RCS Better Mining. Whereas several of these have been analyzed separately, there is a gap in the literature providing a holistic understanding of these developments; how they have emerged, how they are interconnected, and how they are sustained, despite arguably limited impact for ASM communities. In this article, we fill this gap by conceptualizing the ‘responsible cobalt sourcing assemblage.’ We argue that the assemblage approach helps to foreground the non-linearity and contingency of responsible sourcing while also acknowledging the ongoing labor of (re)shaping and sustaining the assemblage. Using Li's (2007a) analytic of assemblage practices, we unpack the processuality, multiplicity and agency of the assemblage.