Corrupt regimes and armed groups receive huge revenues from trade in natural resources. This book unveils the vulnerability of populations in resource-dependent countries to these 'fatal transactions'. It recommends reform of international natural resource governance to prioritise the basic needs and security of these populations.

Fuelling War: Natural Resources and Armed Conflicts (Adelphi Papers)

Science & Math

Le Billon, Philippe

Biological Sciences

Oxford University Press

From Angola and Liberia to Iraq and the Congo, wars have taken place in resource rich countries full of poor people. In Wars of Plunder Philippe Le Billon explores how resources have shaped recent conflicts, and what the international community has tried to do about it. Focusing on key resources-oil, diamonds, and timber-he argues that resources and wars are linked in three main ways. First, resource revenues finance belligerents, a trend that has become all the more conspicuous since the withdrawal of Cold War foreign sponsorship in the late 1980s. Although the 'War on Terror' has redefined military assistance and the internationalisation of war, many belligerents continue to rely on and profit from 'conflict resources'. Second, resource exploitation generates conflict. As global demand for raw materials has sharply increased, competition over critical resources such as oil has resulted in a flurry of 'resource conflicts', from local community struggles against mining multinationals to regional and international tensions. Third, economic shocks and poor governance sharply increase the risk of war (the 'resource curse'). While today's resource boom is a major economic opportunity for resource rich but poor countries, reliance on resource exports often implies sharp economic downturns. Not all resources are the same, however, and effective responses are at hand. Sanctions, military interventions and wealth sharing have helped bring an end to conflicts, yet only deeper domestic and international reforms in resource governance can stop the plunder.

Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources

History

Military

From Angola and Liberia to Iraq and the Congo, wars have taken place in resource rich countries full of poor people. In Wars of Plunder Philippe Le Billon explores how resources have shaped recent conflicts, and what the international community has tried to do about it. Focusing on key resources-oil, diamonds, and timber-he argues that resources and wars are linked in three main ways. First, resource revenues finance belligerents, a trend that has become all the more conspicuous since the withdrawal of Cold War foreign sponsorship in the late 1980s. Although the 'War on Terror' has redefined military assistance and the internationalisation of war, many belligerents continue to rely on and profit from 'conflict resources'. Second, resource exploitation generates conflict. As global demand for raw materials has sharply increased, competition over critical resources such as oil has resulted in a flurry of 'resource conflicts', from local community struggles against mining multinationals to regional and international tensions. Third, economic shocks and poor governance sharply increase the risk of war (the 'resource curse'). While today's resource boom is a major economic opportunity for resource rich but poor countries, reliance on resource exports often implies sharp economic downturns. Not all resources are the same, however, and effective responses are at hand. Sanctions, military interventions and wealth sharing have helped bring an end to conflicts, yet only deeper domestic and international reforms in resource governance can stop the plunder.

Business & Money

Economics

From Iraq and Angola to Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, resource-rich countries with high incidences of poverty are prone to devastating outbreaks of war. These conflicts are highly idiosyncratic, and the response of the international community to their occurrences is fascinatingly complex. 
Philippe Le Billon traces the specific burden of owning the world's most precious resources and the effects of resource politics on the development of war. He focuses on three key resources----oil, diamonds, and timber----and the circumstances linking their abundance to war. He discusses the role of resource revenue in financing belligerent forces, a trend that has grown more conspicuous with the withdrawal of Cold War foreign sponsorship. Le Billon also takes a frank look at international reactions toward such conflicts and their possible underlying motives. While the "War on Terror" has altered the terms of military assistance and the nature of war's internationalization, many belligerent actors continue to rely on the profits of "conflict resources" to survive. Le Billon examines this exploitation of resources and its creation of unrest.

Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources (Columbia/Hurst)

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Columbia University Press

A generous endowment of natural resources should favour rapid economic and social development. The experience of countries like Angola and Iraq, however, suggests that resource wealth often proves a curse rather than a blessing. Billions of dollars from resource exploitation benefit repressive regimes and rebel groups, at a massive cost for local populations. This Adelphi Paper analyses the economic and political vulnerability of resource-dependent countries; assesses how resources influence the likelihood and course of conflicts; and discusses current initiatives to improve resource governance in the interest of peace. It concludes that long-term stability in resource-exporting regions will depend on their developmental outcomes, and calls for a broad reform agenda prioritising the basic needs and security of local populations.

Fuelling War: Natural Resources and Armed Conflicts (Adelphi series)

Reference

Routledge

The Geopolitics of Resource Wars: Resource Dependence, Governance and Violence (Routledge Studies in Geopolitics)

This new book provides fresh and in-depth perspectives on so-called 'resource wars'. Highlighting the multiple forms of violence accompanying the history of resources exploitation, business practices supporting predatory regimes, insurgent groups and terrorists, this is an authoritative guide to the struggle for control of the world's resources. It includes key conceptual chapters and covers a wide range of case studies including: * the geopolitics of oil control in the Middle East, Central Asia and Columbia, * spaces of governance and 'petro-violence' in Nigeria * 'blood diamonds' and other minerals associated with conflicts in Sierra Leone and the Congo. This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal Geopolitics.

The Geopolitics of Resource Wars (Routledge Studies in Geopolitics)

This new book provides fresh and in-depth perspectives on so-called 'resource wars'. Highlighting the multiple forms of violence accompanying the history of resources exploitation, business practices supporting predatory regimes, insurgent groups and terrorists, this is an authoritative guide to the struggle for control of the world's resources. It includes key conceptual chapters and covers a wide range of case studies including: * the geopolitics of oil control in the Middle East, Central Asia and Columbia, * spaces of governance and 'petro-violence' in Nigeria * 'blood diamonds' and other minerals associated with conflicts in Sierra Leone and the Congo. This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal Geopolitics.

Oil pulses through our daily lives. It is the plastic we touch, the food we eat, and the way we move. Oil politics in the twentieth century was about the management of abundance, state power, and market growth. The legacy of this age of plenty includes declining conventional oil reserves, volatile prices, climate change, and enduring poverty in many oil-rich countries. The politics of oil are now at a turning point, and oil's future will not be like its past. In this in-depth primer to one of the world's most significant industries, authors Gavin Bridge and Philippe Le Billon take a fresh look at the contemporary political economy of oil. Going beyond simple assertions of peak oil and an oil curse, they point to an industry reordered by global shifts in demand towards Asia, growing reliance on unconventional reserves, international commitments to reduce carbon emissions and a growing campaign for fossil fuel divestment, and violent political struggles in producer-states. As a new geopolitics of oil emerges, the need for effective global oil governance becomes imperative. Highlighting the growing influence of civil society and attentive to the efforts of firms and states to craft new institutions, this fully updated second edition identifies the challenges and opportunities to curtail price volatility, curb demand and the growth of dirty oil, decarbonize energy systems, and improve governance in oil-producing countries.

Bridge, Gavin

Polity Pr

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Books by Le Billon, Philippe

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Le Billon, Philippe. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Fuelling War: Natural Resources and Armed Conflicts (Adelphi Papers)

Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources

Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources

Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources (Columbia/Hurst)

Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources

Fuelling War: Natural Resources and Armed Conflicts (Adelphi series)

The Geopolitics of Resource Wars (Routledge Studies in Geopolitics)

The Geopolitics of Resource Wars: Resource Dependence, Governance and Violence (Routledge Studies in Geopolitics)

Oil

Oil