Different resources, different conflicts? : an exploration of the regional political economy of armed conflict in Colombia; final technical report
Date
2009-10
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Publisher
Departamento de Ciencia Politica, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, CO
Abstract
This project sought to understand how the specific ways in which natural resources are produced, distributed, and sold affect the forms that armed conflict adopts in different regional or sub-national settings in Colombia. Our research analyzed the links between the extraction and distribution of licit natural resources and patterns of regional and local conflict. We focused on eight mineral and agricultural resources: (i) coffee; (ii) oil; (iii) bananas; (iv) flowers; (v) emeralds; (vi) gold, (vii) ferronickel, and (viii) oil palm. We have found that natural resources and the armed conflict are connected in multiple, non-linear ways: some resources such as gold, bananas, and oil have a direct link with the civil war; others, such as ferronickel and emeralds, are indirectly related to the armed conflict; finally, some resources, such as coffee and flowers are somehow shielded from the dynamics of the Colombian armed conflict.
Description
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IDRC Final Report
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Keywords
COLOMBIA, ARMED CONFLICT, NATURAL RESOURCES, RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, CIVIL WAR, AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES