Resources and Conflict

Discussing the Natural Resources-Conflict Nexus

A Bazooka against Corona?

Janpeter Schilling argues that war rhetoric is not only wrong, but dangerous

Plantations as Assemblages

Anne Hennings uncovers the complex and conflicting relations that shape plantations

Violent Extractivism

Michael Wilson-Becerril highlights the consequences of Western modernity

A Bazooka does not Cure People

Janpeter Schilling Framing, Health Governance, Securitization April 19, 2020April 20, 2020 0 Comment

Commentary by Janpeter Schilling (University of Koblenz-Landau): Why war rhetoric in the time of the coronavirus pandemic is not only wrong, but dangerous

A “bazooka” is what the German Federal Minister of Finance, Olaf Scholz, recently called an aid package to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus. In the same press conference he later mentioned “small arms”, which would also be ready to fight the virus. For the otherwise rather unemotional Scholz, this is an unusual choice of words. Early on in the corona crisis, French President Emmanuel Macron stated “We are at war“. Donald Trump, the self-appointed US “Wartime President” even speaks of “our big war“. Why are important politicians using such a martial vocabulary in their responses to the corona pandemic? And is this okay?

Seeing plantations as complex and contested spaces

Anne Hennings Cambodia, Land Grabbing, Resistance, Sierra Leone, Terms and concepts September 19, 2019September 19, 2019 0 Comment

by Anne Hennings, PhD, University of Muenster

Much has been written on the global land rush, its implications for affected communities and the environment, as well as its conflict potential. However, I argue that assemblage thinking provides a particularly insightful analytical lens to zoom into exclusion mechanisms at play in plantations and respective efforts of contestation. Even in spaces of tight surveillance, increasing intra-community cleavages, and the breakdown of social institutions, I show how the emergence of unusual alliances and solidarity may challenge the status quo.

Extractive Policing, Racialized Displacement, and the Territorial Dynamics of Modernity

Michael S. Wilson-Becerril Extractive Industries, Modernity, Peru, Repression July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 0 Comment

by Michael S. Wilson-Becerril, Colgate University | @mwilsonbecerril

Each year, hundreds of people around the Global South die resisting and contesting resource extraction. While reports attending to this matter are growing, the phenomenon itself is not particularly new. Indeed, violent extractivism is central to the project of Western modernity.

Framing “land grabbing”: How the hype has been constructed

Jan Sändig Civil Society, Framing, Land Grabbing April 18, 2019July 26, 2019 0 Comment

by Jan Sändig, SFB 923, University of Tübingen

Land grabbing has been widely discussed in recent years. It seems quite evident why: Corporate investment in farmland has increased significantly and severely impacted many local communities. But this is only one reason why land grabbing has become a prominent topic. As I discuss in this article, it has also been “successfully” made visible by activists.

Water Shortages at Water Rich Bodies – Observing the Water-Conflict Nexus at Lake Naivasha

Julia Renner Kenya, Water shortage, Water-Conflict-Nexus February 6, 2019July 26, 2019 0 Comment

by Julia Renner, University of Koblenz-Landau

“The water levels are currently enormous, but local people lack adequate provision of water!” This observation struck me during my field research around Lake Naivasha in Kenya. Therefore, enlarging the research puzzle on the water-conflict nexus, I investigate how water shortages at water abundant areas impact low-key conflicts in Kenya.

A local to global framework on resource governance and conflict

Janpeter Schilling, Christina Saulich & Nina Engwicht Land Conflict, Resource certification, Resource governance, Scale December 28, 2018June 15, 2019 0 Comment

by Janpeter Schilling¹, Christina Saulich² & Nina Engwicht³

How do global schemes of resource certification and global demand for valuable resources like diamonds and land influence local conflicts? How do local resource and conflict dynamics influence global processes related to resource demand and certification? To address these questions, we have edited a special issue in the journal Conflict, Security and Development that introduces a local to global framework to examine resource governance and conflicts across scales.

New Pieces to the Puzzle: The Food-Water-Energy-Mining Nexus in Environmental Conflicts

Sören Köpke Extractive Industries, Land Conflict, Methodology, Terms and concepts March 20, 2018March 20, 2018 0 Comment

by Sören Köpke, University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology

The conflict dimensions of large-scale land acquisitions and water management issues have gained a lot of scholarly attention over the last decade. A small, but growing research community is investigating the social consequences of extractive industries. There is a need for integrative approaches bringing these topics together – inquiries into the food-water-energy-mining nexus. Read more

Have You Seen My Wallet, or: Where to Look When Searching for Climate Conflicts?

Tobias Ide & Adrien Detges Climate-Conflict Nexus, Methodology, Research biases February 14, 2018February 14, 2018 0 Comment

by Tobias Ide, Georg Eckert Institute & TU Braunschweig
Adrien Detges, adelphi, Berlin

The links between climate change and conflict receive increasing scholarly attention. But which places are analysed most frequently by researchers working on the issue? Read more

Land Grabs as ‘Shrinking Spaces’ for Civil Society?

Louisa Prause Civil Society, Land Grabbing, Mining, Senegal January 11, 2018February 14, 2018 2 Comments

by Louisa Prause, Freie Universität Berlin

The term ‘shrinking spaces’ describes state actions that aim to restrict civil societies’ activities. In this article I investigate in how far spaces for civil society action are also influenced by changes in land control by looking at two cases of large-scale land transformations in Senegal. Read more

Improving Tenure Governance: Experiences from Multilateral Partnerships in Sierra Leone

Sandra Koch & Christian Schulze Civil Society, Sierra Leone, Tenure Governance December 20, 2017February 14, 2018 0 Comment

by Sandra Koch, Green Scenery/AGEH-Civil Peace Service
Christian Schulze, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, the livelihoods of the majority of the population, particularly the rural poor, are based on secure and equitable access to land, fisheries and forests. Increasing pressure on these resources in the last decade alongside their highly unequal distribution have contributed to disputes and conflict over access and user rights, which were already a key driver of the Sierra Leone civil war from 1991-2002. Read more

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