Mapping Greed as a Conflict Motivation: Evidence from Armed Conflicts in Sudan and Libya on the Complexity of Armed Groups’ Interactions with Natural Resources

2021 ◽  
pp. 287-321
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Armed Groups

scholarly journals The European Union and natural resources that fund armed conflicts: Explaining the EU’s policy choice for supply chain due-diligence requirements

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn C Vlaskamp
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Resource Governance ◽  
Conflict Minerals ◽  
The Eu

Natural resources can be an important source of funding for warring parties in armed conflicts. Curbing the trade in these so-called conflict resources is, therefore, part of the European Union’s conflict management policies. The article explores the EU’s policies in this field and asks, specifically, why the EU is using supply chain due-diligence measures to achieve this goal. The author argues that they are the response to enforcement problems of most existing multilateral and unilateral sanction regimes because of state weakness in the targeted regions. This approach results from a broader idea from the EU that transparency can improve resource governance and, therefore, safeguard both its political and economic interests in conflict zones, such as the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, when the issue becomes specific—as in the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation—translating this idea into concrete policies becomes more contentious as the EU institutions set different priorities for the final policy design.

Digging into “Resource War” Beliefs

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Le Billon
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Resource Control ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
War Narratives ◽  
Water Wars ◽  
The Future ◽  
Widespread Belief ◽  
Multiple Causes

Water wars, oil conflicts and blood diamonds. Three terms reflecting a widespread belief that people fight over resources. Is this belief backed by evidence? What power relations does such a belief reflect and shape? If natural resources have a conspicuous presence in accounts of armed conflicts, the term ‘resource wars’ represents a gross oversimplification. Strategically deployed to prepare for ‘the wars of the future’ or to shame belligerents by exposing their ‘greedy’ motives, ‘resource war’ narratives often overlook the multiple causes of conflict and alternative options to militarized resource control. A main threat from ‘resource wars’ narratives is that they become self-fulfilling prophecies. As such, ‘resource wars’ studies should first be self-reflexive, and then strive to encompass the broad causes, specific historical contexts, and wide variety of effects that resource sectors have on the environment and social relations.

scholarly journals The Role of Customary International Law in Regulating the Activities of Armed Groups in the Field of Human Rights

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 195-204
Author(s):  
R. I. Sharipov
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Jus Cogens ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Peremptory Norms

Over the past decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of armed groups involved in armed conflicts around the world, as well as in their impact on the rights and freedoms of the population under their control. Facing various situations of systematic violations of human rights by non-state actors, experts in the field of international human rights law began to consider the theoretical justification for the mandatory nature of the provisions on the observance and protection of human rights for armed groups. In this regard, a number of scholars have turned to the theory of customary international law, the acceptability of which is being investigated by the author of this paper. The author examines the provisions underlying this theory and the persuasiveness of the argumentation used by its supporters. Based on an analysis of the nature of customary international law, its structural elements, their interpretation by the UN International Court of Justice in its decisions and the relationship of customary international law with peremptory norms of jus cogens, the author concludes that the theory under consideration is currently unable to explain the existence of obligations of armed groups in the field of human rights.

scholarly journals Who is Responsible for Instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

2014 ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
G. M. Sidorova
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Republic Of The Congo

The research focuses on the problem of military-political instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo experiencing continued armed conflict for a long time. Dozens of illegal armed groups both Congolese and foreign origin continue to destabilize situation in the eastern part of the country causing humanitarian disasters. Due to governmental weakness, economic backwardness, chronical lack of finance resources, interethnic conflicts, all-round and widely spread corruption of the authorities, the Congolese government at the moment is not able to overcome scores of problems including the problem of security. Assistanceprovided to the DRC by itspartnerssuch as, first of all, the former metropolitan country Belgium, as well as the USA, Great Britain, the Europe Union and China works only in favourof these country-donors. They are attracted by rich Congolese natural resources which the DRC remaining one of the poorest countries in the world cannot turn to advantage to the full extent because of its economic backwardness. In exchange for so-calleddevelopment programmes, expensive strategic raw material (such as coltan, wolfram, casseterit, cooper, gold, niobium, and other) is being extracted and exported from the country, in addition, often on the inequivalent basis. This is taking place for the reason that numerous mines and open-cast mines are being controlled by different illegal armed groups and not by the central government. Therefore, it turns out that in the context of a military-political crisis, for so-called partners it is more beneficial to pursue their own interests. Furthermore, western ideologists arouse "separatism-oriented" theories similar to "balkanization", in other words, a breakdown of this giant country into several independent states. The Congolese are tremulous to this issue, they try to counter such approachs and defend the territorial integrity of the DRC. However, it is not an easy task. The impediment is unsettled relations with neighbouring countries - Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi which for tens of years exploit illegally natural resources of the DRC and try to lay hold of frontier Congolese territories.

A price worth fighting for? Natural resources and conflict recurrence

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 531-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siri Aas Rustad ◽  
Helga Malmin Binningsbø
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Resource Distribution ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Resource Conflict ◽  
Resource Conflicts ◽  
Internal Armed Conflict ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Number Of Publications

While a number of publications show that natural resources are associated with internal armed conflict, surprisingly little research looks at how natural resources affect post-conflict peace. This article therefore investigates the relationship between natural resources and post-conflict peace by analyzing new data on natural resource conflicts. We argue that the effect of natural resources on peace depends on how a country’s natural resources can constitute a motive or opportunity for armed conflict. In particular, three mechanisms may link natural resources to conflict recurrence: disagreements over natural resource distribution may motivate rebellion; using natural resources as a funding source creates an opportunity for conflict; and natural resources may aggravate existing conflict, acting either as motivation or opportunity for rebellion, but through other mechanisms than distributional claims or funding. Our data code all internal armed conflicts between 1946 and 2006 according to the presence of these resource–conflict links. We claim such mechanisms increase the risk of conflict recurrence because access to natural resources is an especially valuable prize worth fighting for. We test our hypotheses using a piecewise exponential survival model and find that, bivariately, armed conflicts with any of these resource–conflict mechanisms are more likely to resume than non-resource conflicts. A multivariate analysis distinguishing between the three mechanisms reveals that this relationship is significant only for conflicts motivated by natural resource distribution issues. These findings are important for researchers and policymakers interested in overcoming the ‘curse’ associated with natural resources and suggest that the way forward lies in natural resource management policies carefully designed to address the specific resource–conflict links.

Human Rights Obligations of Armed Groups

2019 ◽  
pp. 444-462
Author(s):  
Andreas Th Müller
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Potential Application ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
The Past ◽  
Legal Obligations ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
State Actors

One of the asymmetries faced by military missions in areas of limited statehood are diverging legal obligations of state and non-state actors, in particular in relation to human rights duties. From a perspective of states bound by human rights treaties, there is a certain danger that armed groups opposing them might abuse the obligations incumbent upon state actors. Against this perception, the potential application of human rights law to armed groups is not only relevant as a tool for protecting civilians but also from a reciprocity perspective in view of the fluidity of armed conflicts and with a view to convergence of standards. The chapter assesses how international law and international legal practice in relation to armed groups have evolved over the past decade. It takes stock of recent developments and analyses the degree to which human rights obligations apply to armed groups.

9. Natural resources, security, and conflicts

2020 ◽  
pp. 293-317
Author(s):  
Jean-Frédéric Morin ◽  
Amandine Orsini ◽  
Sikina Jinnah
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Environmental Security ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Security Threats ◽  
Environmental Resources ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
State Security ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter discusses the relationship between the environment and security. The concept of ‘environmental security’ is omnipresent, but is nonetheless ambiguous and contested. What exactly needs to be secured, and what are the security threats? Is environmental security about state security, faced with the loss of natural resources? Or is it about protecting individuals and communities from environmental degradation and reduced access to key environmental resources? A first step in clarifying these questions is to disentangle two related but distinct causal arguments. In the relationship between environment and security, environmental degradation can be analysed either as a cause or as a consequence of security issues. A second step needed to clarify these debates is to adopt clear definitions. In the context of international relations, security has traditionally been understood in relation to the survival of the state, and the main threats to state security are armed conflicts. For the purpose of this chapter, conflicts are defined as any type of disagreement. The chapter also examines the impact of conflicts on the environment.

The Definition of Civilians in Non-International Armed Conflicts

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Marquis Bissonnette
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Direct Participation ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Shed Light

This article analyzes the perceptions of armed groups regarding the concept of civilians in non-international armed conflicts, through their codes of conduct and other commitments. It intends to shed light on the implementation by these non-state actors of the very critical principle of distinction, the exact articulation of is hotly debated in non-international armed conflict. It thus presents the different approaches to the principle of distinction in non-international armed conflict: the specific-act approach, the membership approach, the functional non-privileged combatancy approach, and the direct participation in hostilities with extended temporal scope in light of the commitments and undertakings of various armed groups. It concludes with the findings made on the basis of the study of the commitments made by armed groups, underlying in particular the issues that remain problematic regarding the principle of distinction in non-international armed conflict, as well as the issues on which a consensus in conceivable.

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