Philippe Le Billon

The political ecology of war: natural resources and armed conflicts

Throughout the 1990s, many armed groups have relied on revenues from natural resources such as oil, timber, or gems to substitute for dwindling Cold War sponsorship. Resources not only financed, but in some cases motivated conflicts, and shaped strategies of power based on the commercialisation of armed conflict and the territorialisation of sovereignty around valuable resource areas and trading networks. As such, armed conflict in the post-Cold War period is increasingly characterised by a specific political ecology closely linked to the geography and political economy of natural resources. This paper examines theories of relationships between resources and armed conflicts and the historical processes in which they are embedded. It stresses the vulnerability resulting from resource dependence, rather than conventional notions of scarcity or abundance, the risks of violence linked to the conflictuality of natural resource political economies, and the opportunities for armed insurgents resulting from the lootability of resources. Violence is expressed in the subjugation of the rights of people to determine the use of their environment and the brutal patterns of resource extraction and predation. Beyond demonstrating the economic agendas of belligerents, an analysis of the linkages between natural resources and armed conflicts suggests that the criminal character of their inclusion in international primary commodity markets responds to an exclusionary form of globalisation; with major implications for the promotion of peace.

The Political Ecology of Transition in Cambodia 1989–1999: War, Peace and Forest Exploitation

Over the last decade forests have played an important role in the transition from war to peace in Cambodia. Forest exploitation financed the continuation of war beyond the Cold War and regional dynamics yet it also stimulated cooperation between conflicting parties. Timber represented a key stake in the rapacious transition from the (benign) socialism of the post-Khmer Rouge period to (exclusionary) capitalism thereby becoming the most politicized resource of a reconstruction process that has failed to be either as green or as democratic as the international community had hoped. This article explores the social networks and power politics shaping forest exploitation with the aim of casting light on the politics of transition. It also scrutinizes the unintended consequences of the international communitys discourse of democracy good governance and sustainable development on forest access rights. The commodification of Cambodian forests is interpreted as a process of transforming nature into money through a political ecology of transition that legitimates an exclusionary form of capitalism. (authors)

Diamond Wars? Conflict Diamonds and Geographies of Resource Wars

In the late 1990s, natural resources such as oil, diamonds, and timber came under increased scrutiny by conflict analysts and media outlets for their purported role in many contemporary wars. This article discusses some of the limitations of conventional arguments linking wars and resources. Dominated by econometric approaches and rational choice theory interpretations, arguments pertaining to “resource wars” often oversimplify or overlook the geographical dimensions of resource-related conflicts. By defining spatiality primarily in terms of the location of resource reserves and flows generating revenues for belligerents, these approaches overlook other geographical aspects of resources crucial to conflicts. Focusing on “conflict diamonds” and drawing on recent international relations works and geographical research on the political ecology of violence, commodity chains, and consumption, the article presents an alternative conceptual framework engaging with resource-related spaces of vulnerability, risk, ...In the late 1990s, natural resources such as oil, diamonds, and timber came under increased scrutiny by conflict analysts and media outlets for their purported role in many contemporary wars. This article discusses some of the limitations of conventional arguments linking wars and resources. Dominated by econometric approaches and rational choice theory interpretations, arguments pertaining to “resource wars” often oversimplify or overlook the geographical dimensions of resource-related conflicts. By defining spatiality primarily in terms of the location of resource reserves and flows generating revenues for belligerents, these approaches overlook other geographical aspects of resources crucial to conflicts. Focusing on “conflict diamonds” and drawing on recent international relations works and geographical research on the political ecology of violence, commodity chains, and consumption, the article presents an alternative conceptual framework engaging with resource-related spaces of vulnerability, risk, and opportunity for conflicts. This framework, in turn, highlights policy biases resulting from oversimplified readings of “resource war” geographies.

The Geopolitical economy of ‘resource wars’

Geopolitical concerns about so-called ‘resource wars’ have mostly focused on international resource competition, and the vulnerability of resource supply. This article presents an alternative view emphasizing the political and economic vulnerabilitites of resource-dependent states in relation to resource-linked armed conflicts. It then outlines how the geopolitics of resource competition, the history, identity formation, political economy, and characteristics of resource exploitation, as well as the financial opportunities afforded in part by businesses to belligerents can help to understand the geographies of ‘resources wars’. Finally, the study suggests that curtailing resource access by belligerents can assist in the termination of conflicts, but that long-term solutions pass through fairer and more accountable political economy of internationally traded resources at both a domestic and global level.Geopolitical concerns about so-called ‘resource wars’ have mostly focused on international resource competition, and the vulnerability of resource supply. This article presents an alternative view emphasizing the political and economic vulnerabilitites of resource-dependent states in relation to resource-linked armed conflicts. It then outlines how the geopolitics of resource competition, the history, identity formation, political economy, and characteristics of resource exploitation, as well as the financial opportunities afforded in part by businesses to belligerents can help to understand the geographies of ‘resources wars’. Finally, the study suggests that curtailing resource access by belligerents can assist in the termination of conflicts, but that long-term solutions pass through fairer and more accountable political economy of internationally traded resources at both a domestic and global level.

Logging in Muddy Waters: The Politics of Forest Exploitation in Cambodia

“Logging in Muddy Waters” analyzes the boom in forest exploitation that characterized the 1990s in Cambodia, focusing on the instrumentalization of disorder and violence as a mode of control of forest access and timber-trading channels. The article examines tensions existing between the aspirations of Cambodians for a better life, the power politics of elites, and the hope of some in the international community for a green and democratic peace. These tensions have produced both an interlocking pattern of “illegal logging” from the highest levels of the state to self-demobilized soldiers and peasants and sustained criticism that was only temporarily resolved through a legalization of the forest sector that benefited large-scale companies to the prejudice of the poor.

Corruption, Reconstruction and Oil Governance in Iraq

With the worlds second largest oil reserves, Iraq is potentially a very prosperous country. Like many other oil-dependent countries, however, Iraqs recent history points to a pattern of authoritarianism, corruption and violence. The US administration has portrayed its occupation of Iraq as an effort to break with this pattern and ensure democracy, security and a shared prosperity for Iraqis. This article engages with the challenges of oil governance and reconstruction in Iraq, focusing on the role of corruption and the record of the Coalition Provisional Authority. Iraqs political legacy, oil dependence and transition under US occupation suggest that the new Iraqi regime may once again rest on corruption-based patronage; but of a type more accommodating to US interests.With the worlds second largest oil reserves, Iraq is potentially a very prosperous country. Like many other oil-dependent countries, however, Iraqs recent history points to a pattern of authoritarianism, corruption and violence. The US administration has portrayed its occupation of Iraq as an effort to break with this pattern and ensure democracy, security and a shared prosperity for Iraqis. This article engages with the challenges of oil governance and reconstruction in Iraq, focusing on the role of corruption and the record of the Coalition Provisional Authority. Iraqs political legacy, oil dependence and transition under US occupation suggest that the new Iraqi regime may once again rest on corruption-based patronage; but of a type more accommodating to US interests.

Ending ‘Resource Wars’: Revenue Sharing, Economic Sanction or Military Intervention?

There is a growing consensus that insurgent access to natural resource revenues prolongs armed conflicts and presents significant hurdles to peacekeeping missions. This article examines the effectiveness of resource-related conflict termination instruments, focusing on revenue sharing, economic sanction and military intervention. Observing the outcomes of these three instruments for 26 conflicts between 1989 and 2006, we suggest that military intervention and revenue sharing seem to have a better record of successful implementation than sanctions, but that sanctions and sharing agreements have a stronger correlation with durable peace than military interventions. We also note that the effectiveness of conflict termination initiatives seems to respond to the types of conflicts and resources involved, and discuss implications for mechanisms linking resources and conflicts.

Corrupting Peace? Peacebuilding and Post-conflict Corruption

Many conflict-affected countries are among the most corrupt in the world, and corruption is frequently reported as a major concern of local populations and foreign aid agencies during transition to peace. Tackling corruption is part of ‘liberal peacebuilding’, which seeks to consolidate peace through democracy and free markets economy. Yet liberalization policies may also foster corruption. Using a preliminary analysis of selected corruption perception indicators, this article finds tenuous and divergent support for post-conflict patterns of corruption. Three main arguments linking liberal peacebuilding with higher levels of corruption are then presented for further elaboration, and a research agenda is outlined.Many conflict-affected countries are among the most corrupt in the world, and corruption is frequently reported as a major concern of local populations and foreign aid agencies during transition to peace. Tackling corruption is part of ‘liberal peacebuilding’, which seeks to consolidate peace through democracy and free markets economy. Yet liberalization policies may also foster corruption. Using a preliminary analysis of selected corruption perception indicators, this article finds tenuous and divergent support for post-conflict patterns of corruption. Three main arguments linking liberal peacebuilding with higher levels of corruption are then presented for further elaboration, and a research agenda is outlined.

Oil Prices, Scarcity, and Geographies of War

Many commentators warn that oil scarcity increases the likelihood of war; we question this simplistic concept of scarcity-driven wars. Questioning the relationship between violence, scarcity, and oil begins from reconsidering the causal relationship between high prices and war: Wars can arise in the context of low prices, and the oil-related dimensions of conflicts that occur in the context of high oil prices cannot be solely reduced to struggles over dwindling resources. Based on a succinct review of recent studies, a discussion of major hypotheses, and a brief case study of Sudan, we suggest that scarcity is in part a narrative constructed for and through prices. Power relations resulting in massive financial windfalls mediate this narrative and its selective geographies of war and peace. We outline several hypotheses, and—drawing on critical geopolitics and political ecology—explore avenues for further studies incorporating spatially disaggregated analyses.

BETWEEN WAR AND PEACE: VIOLENCE AND ACCOMMODATION IN THE CAMBODIAN LOGGING SECTOR

From the deadly raids launched upon Burundi’s capital by Hutu rebels hiding in the nearby Tenga forest, to the multimillion dollar exploitation of teak along the ThaiBurmese border by the Karen National Union, insurgents have repeatedly used forests as a refuge or a source of finance. Located near roads and towns that are of military importance, or along border areas offering political sanctuary, forests provide some of the safest terrain from which to prepare or launch guerrilla operations. Forest products are among the most conspicuous resources financing wars in a post-Cold War era where business and predation have replaced foreign state support (Le Billon, 2001). As rebels take advantage of their location in forests to control or establish logging operations, underfunded or financially self-interested government military forces deployed for counterinsurgency purposes frequently join in. Logging companies also seem to accept a higher degree of risk than entrepreneurs in most other sectors, for instance to access increasingly rare and valuable old growth forests. The war in Cambodia during the early 1990s became emblematic of links between forests, armed groups and logging companies, due to the pioneering advocacy work of Global Witness (1995a, 1996). This London-based human rights organization carefully collected and widely publicized evidence on the role of the logging sector in financing the war, demonstrating the complicity of neighboring countries, the collusion of Cambodian political parties in power, and the massive costs for the population and the environment. Forests not only offered the main stronghold and source of finance of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla force, before it was militarily ousted in 1979 by Vietnamese troops. Forests, and timber in particular, were the subject of numerous conflicts and accommodations between divergent actors, including poor farmers, enterprising generals, and large regional companies. Ironically, the end of the century importance of the Cambodia forest sector was itself in part the result of previous hostilities. Despite massive bombing in the eastern half of the country by the United States (US), 20 years of tragic history had arguably saved the