Peace Academy publishes special issue on resources and conflicts

Diamonds in Sierra Leone, forests in Costa Rica, land in Ethiopia, wind in Kenya - different resources can lead to conflicts. In order to better understand the connection between natural resources and conflicts, Jun. Prof. Dr. Janpeter Schilling, Managing Director of the Peace Academy, Dr. Nina Engwicht, Research Associate at the Peace Academy, and Christina Saulich, Associate at the Peace Academy, have published a special issue of the journal Conflict, Security and Development. In the introduction, the editors present an analytical framework that helps to better understand the interplay between natural resources and conflicts at the local, national and global levels. In the five other articles in the special issue, the analytical framework is then applied by international authors to case studies in Central America and West and East Africa. The article on Ethiopia, for example, shows how the national government is paving the way for global investors to gain access to productive land resources while the local population is being displaced. In her article, Nina Engwicht shows how the international Kimberley Process for the certification of diamonds is understood and implemented in Sierra Leone. Janpeter Schilling, together with two co-authors, points out that although the wind farm in northern Kenya causes less environmental damage than oil extraction in the north-west of the country, the wind farm nevertheless leads to tensions between the local population and the operator, especially when the local population's demand for employment opportunities is not met. All articles in the special edition are available free of charge.

Peace Academy publishes special issue on resources and conflicts

Diamonds in Sierra Leone, forests in Costa Rica, land in Ethiopia, wind in Kenya - different resources can lead to conflicts. In order to better understand the connection between natural resources and conflicts, Jun. Prof. Dr. Janpeter Schilling, Managing Director of the Peace Academy, Dr. Nina Engwicht, Research Associate at the Peace Academy, and Christina Saulich, Associate at the Peace Academy, have published a special issue of the journal Conflict, Security and Development. In the introduction, the editors present an analytical framework that helps to better understand the interplay between natural resources and conflicts at the local, national and global levels. In the five other articles in the special issue, the analytical framework is then applied by international authors to case studies in Central America and West and East Africa. The article on Ethiopia, for example, shows how the national government is paving the way for global investors to gain access to productive land resources while the local population is being displaced. In her article, Nina Engwicht shows how the international Kimberley Process for the certification of diamonds is understood and implemented in Sierra Leone. Janpeter Schilling, together with two co-authors, points out that although the wind farm in northern Kenya causes less environmental damage than oil extraction in the north-west of the country, the wind farm nevertheless leads to tensions between the local population and the operator, especially when the local population's demand for employment opportunities is not met. All articles in the special edition are available free of charge.