Africa,
natural resources and conflict
Natural resources are often one of the causes
(sometimes, the main cause) behind territorial conflict. In the case of Africa,
it is easy to determine the presence of local, regional and international interests.
The post today centers the attention on natural resources by briefly
introducing their relevance in terms of conflict and the usual misconception
(or oversimplification) when we refer to Africa. Two documents refer to these
issues extensively. The reader will find a brief account of each document and
the respective links below.
It is not unreasonable to suspect that
territory with resources of any type will be inherently more valuable than
territory without such a resource component. While territories already possess
inherent value, be it the exploitation of the populace, industry, commerce, a
strategic position, or ethnic brethren, resources should enhance this value
regardless of type. Further, while states may vary in how they approach territory
based on resource type, the mere presence of a resource will enhance the
salience of the territory and push a state to be more aggressive in its pursuit
of acquisition.
Resources represent wealth, and this
wealth can be translated into military power or whatever other goals the states
pursue, and in recognition of this, states will value the claim more highly
than they would have were there no resource component. This increased salience
will result in states being more willing to resort to armed conflict to settle
their claim, or pressure competing states to recognize a better negotiated
settlement.
In addition, the presence of resources
will create incentives for autocracies and democracies to ensure the
exploitation of the resource to benefit the regime.
For autocratic leaders, the resource
will represent potential private goods that can be provided to their winning coalition
alongside whatever benefits the state may benefit from exploitation, making
their regime more stable and ensuring the survival of the autocrat.
Democracies face similar incentives,
not through the provision of goods but from interest groups lobbying the
government to secure the resource for their industry or local interest,
ensuring that democracies will also pursue the resource more aggressively to
satisfy their domestic constituents.
Natural
Resources and Territorial Conflict
The differences emanating from
Africa’s human and physical environments
allow for the misapprehension of the
continent. There are numerous broad categorizations about Africa, few of which are
valid when examined within the diverse realities of the continent. There is a tendency
to the mistake of extrapolating a specific case to represent the entire
continent. This is a mistake that extends to assessments often made about the
continent’s political situation.
Geographically, the entire African
continent is large and diverse. Its area of about 30,328,000 square kilometers
(about 11,700,000 square miles), makes it the second largest after Asia and
about a quarter of the world’s land surface. Its shape, however, is the most
compact of all the continents, “measuring approximately 8,050 kilometers (about
5,000 miles) from north to south as well as east to west, and being bounded by
a coastline which is generally straight and relatively short.”
Africa’s population is crucial to
understanding some of the complications surrounding its natural resource
conflicts for at least two reasons. First, human population is often considered
the most important resource available to a nation, especially as it is needed
to exploit other natural resource endowments.
Furthermore, it is only the human
population that can engage in the conflicts. Second, the key issue in resource
politics has always been how long the reserve of a particular resource would
last in the face of an expanding population.
With an estimate of more than 600
million people, Africa’s population is exceeded only by those of Asia and
Europe. Its population growth rate is, however, the highest in the world.
Africa’s population characteristics raise a number of considerations for
natural resource conflicts.
There is considerable natural
resource endowment on the African continent to cater for its population. These
resources are useful for domestic consumption and, in many cases, vital for the
global market. Indeed, in some of these resources, the continent is well-placed
to influence events in the global market, especially with a natural resource
such as oil. But even the euphoria of abundance, which this may reflect, is, in
itself, not a requisite cause of conflict, as there are also significant
challenges associated with the management of these endowments that might
engender conflicts.
Natural
Resources and Conflict in Africa
Jorge
Emilio Núñez
Twitter:
@London1701
03rd October 2018
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