Fuelling war natural resources and armed conflict pdf

In eight of these conflicts, gemstones are one of the resources. What do we know about natural resources and civil war. Fuelling war natural resources and armed conflicts. Summary in the past two decades the relationship between natural resources and conflict risk has reemerged as a key issue in international security. V public disclosure authorized natural resources and. One of the most surprising and important findings is that natural resources in particular, oil and gemstones play a key role in triggering and prolonging these conflicts. Taking a broad look at natural resources and conflict in africa, it seems obvious that at the centre of most of the problem is governance. You have full access to read online and download this title.

Natural resource wealth, conflict, and peacebuilding by ingrid. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Natural resources and armed conflicts 9 chapter 1 the resource curse in the aftermath of the second world war and decolonisation process, much hope was placed on the promise that extractive sectors would lift developing countries from their poverty. The political economy of civil war and concflict transformation. Natural resources and armed conflicts adelphi series. Conflicts such as the wars in sierra leone, angola, and the democratic republic of congo drc have raised growing concerns that natural resources such as diamonds, oil, gold.

The role of the exploitation of natural resources in fuelling and prolonging crises in the eastern drc 5 executive summary 1. Conflict resources are natural resources extracted in a conflict zone and sold to perpetuate the fighting. International law and governance of natural resources in. A generous endowment of natural resources should favour rapid economic and social development. Natural resources and armed conflict a generous endowment of natural resources should favour rapid economic and social development.

Natural resources and armed conflict a generous endowment of natural resources should favour rapid economic and. Increased natural resources increase the risk of war, collier and hoeffler found, adding. The main goal of these measures was to curtail access to revenues by. The resource curse, also known as the paradox of plenty, refers to the paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources such as fossil fuels and certain minerals, tend to have less economic growth, less democracy, and worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources. Robert miller a lengthy and in depth report into the role played by corporations based in uk in the bloody conflicts in democratic republic of the congo. This article seeks to address this puzzle by concentrating on the issue of how rebel access to natural resources affects conflict. It explains four ways that resources increase the hazard of civil war. Pdf throughout the 1990s, many armed groups have relied on revenues from natural resources such as. For a company already heavily invested, a costbenefit analysis may indicate that the profit from oil extraction could outweigh the economic costs of doing business in a conflict zone. At the same time natural resources play an important role in post conflict situations. There exists a growing recognition in the international community of the role of natural resources in initiating, escalating, and sustaining armed conflict. This paper summarizes recent findings on natural resources and civil war. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our cookie policy. Gold and various metals of the tin group cassiterite, coltan, niobium and tungsten have been mined in the eastern provinces of the democratic republic of congo drc since the beginning of the 20th century.

Natural resources and armed conflict nell and the iron throne, and forth fascinating country. Given the role of lucrative natural resources in fuelling war economies, the term resource wars has become popular among analysts and policy makers. Conflict diamonds and timber in liberia the civil war in liberia, during which over a quarter of a million people died, provides perhaps the starkest example of militarypolitical entrepreneurship driven by natural resource exploitation. Causes, impact and implications for the great lakes region executive summary the democratic republic of congo is recovering from conflicts, posting substantial improve ment in overall macroeconomic performance since the cessation of the war, on the back of robust copper and cobalt exports. For some companies, armed conflict may be almost a cost of doing business. Widespread violence disrupts markets and destroys infrastructure. Several studies have attempted to unravel mechanisms on why natural resources are linked to armed conflict, but no coherent picture has yet emerged. The failure to address the governance of natural resources can. Workers can be displaced or kidnapped and supply chains broken. How british corporations are fuelling war in the congo. London, international institute for strategic studies, 2005.

The current scholarly debate on resource wealth and armed conflict was triggered in the late. The project global atlas and information centre for conflicts and natural resources had the aim to collect and to analyse the data related to the link between armed conflicts and natural. The emergent field of environmental peacebuilding which integrates naturalresource management in conflict prevention, mitigation. Natural resources and armed conflict a generous endowment of natural resources should favour rapid economic and social. Abundant and valuable natural resources offer opportunities for corruption and rentseeking behaviour by the ruling elite and their cronies, with both economic and political consequences. Fuelling war natural resources and armed conflicts taylor. V public disclosure authorized natural resources and violent. Implications for conflict prevention and termination 8. Kofi annan, secretarygeneral of the united nations unhcr 2001 armed conflict is a very serious problem in parts of africa today, where many countries are at risk of conflict, engaged in conflict, emerging from. Some even see these as a new type of armed conflict cilliers 2000.

Natural resources and armed conflict 2nd edition, 2005. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Conflict resources in the democratic republic of congo in terms of human casualties, the war that ripped apart the democratic republic of congo drc was the worst since world war ii, resulting in over four million deaths, and is perhaps the greatest example of a resourcefuelled war. This endogenous character means that conflict may be engendered more by changes in the pattern of corruption than by corruption itself. How resource wealth fuels war the national interest.

Such changes, frequently associated with domestic or external shocks, can lead to armed conflict as increasingly violent forms of competitive corruption between factions encourage war by rewarding belligerents. The current debate about the linkage between natural resources and the onset, duration and termination of conflicts around the globe focuses on three distinct perspectives. A generous endowment of natural resources should favour rapid economic and. Since the late 1990s, there has been a flood of research on natural resources and civil war.

Armed conflicts and natural resources can be directly related in two main ways. There is both statistical and anecdotal evidence that belligerent accessibility to precious commodities can prolong conflicts a resource curse. Options and actions first explains the links between resource dependence and conflict and then considers what can be done to help reduce the risk of civil war in these nations. Peering into a war fall of the elite young thug to live in moments that jamie, stepbystep, joy of fools. Even where countries initially manage to avoid violent conflict, large rents from natural resources can weaken state structures, and make governments less accountable, often leading to the emergence of secessionist rebellions, and allout civil war. Conflict analysis summary democratic republic of the congo. Companies can face accusations of complicity in violence, of fuelling or even causing civil war. Mines and other sites of natural resource exploitation tend to be controlled by clans, and access to employment is reserved for members of the tribe managing that is managing the sites. Natural resources and armed conflicts 1st edition ph. They can become a peace asset in peace agreements and as such they are very relevant in peace building, post. The experience of countries like angola and iraq, however, suggests that resource wealth often proves a curse rather than a blessing. Fuelling conflict the oil industry and armed conflict.