Resource Violence
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The future of intrastate violence in Africa: More violence or greater peace?
Jakkie Cilliers, Julia Schünemann / ISS / May 2013
This paper analyzes the potential for intrastate conflict in Africa up to 2050. In conducting the analysis, the authors 1) look at major post-Cold War patterns of conflict and instability on the continent; 2) review seven correlates associated with intrastate conflict, which they then apply to the African case; and 3) subsequently explain why intrastate violence has persisted there, despite widespread economic growth, improved human development, and the application of large-scale conflict prevention measures. And yet, despite what seems to be a dubious near-term record, the paper's authors conclude that large-scale violence will steadily decline in Africa, although instability and violence are likely to persist.
Economics by Other Means: War, Poverty, and Conflict Minerals in Africa
Kwai Quartey /Foreign Policy in Focus / November 2013
With support from Moscow, Washington, and the former imperial capitals no longer assured, armed groups in Africa now compete for riches in diamond mines, gold pits, oil wells, and rare earth deposits.
Throughout the postcolonial period, internecine warfare—along with the poverty and underdevelopment that attend it—has been endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. The images are depressingly familiar: government forces fighting against armed rebel militias; terrorized, starving refugees fleeing for their lives; villages burned to the ground; women raped and men tortured.
Understanding of the natural resource conflict dynamic: The case of Tuareg in North Africa and the Sahel
Muna A. Abdalla / Institute for Security Studies / August 2009
Muna A. Abdalla, Institute for Security Studies, August 2009 Migration, extractive industry investments, and disputes over land tenure have for decades complicated dynamics within Tuareg communities and their relations with governments in the Sahel. As this region undergoes immense changes and many Tuaregs once again move across borders, conflicts are reemerging. Initiatives that integrate Tuareg concerns over land and livelihood opportunities through inclusive political engagement will be necessary to address these recurring regional conflict drivers. - See more at: http://africacenter.org/2012/04/other-reads-on-natural-resources-and-conflict-2/#sthash.zdw0S0sG.dpuf