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Ecoviolence: Shrinking Pie, or Honey Pot?

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  • Indra de Soysa

Abstract

Some claim that the scarcity of natural resources, particularly renewable resources, is a "causal mechanism" behind civil war. Recent work in development studies and political science suggest that relative abundance of natural resources cause broad-based socio-economic and political problems, while some using microeconomic theories even blame abundance directly for motivating "loot-seeking" rebellion and allowing the finance of large-scale armed violence. Using a host of alternative measures of natural capital wealth, disaggregated as renewable and nonrenewable, this study finds that an abundance of renewable resources, not its scarcity, leads to violence and to lower economic, human, and institutional development. The abundance of mineral resources is consistently associated with higher levels of conflict and lower levels of human and institutional development. The results raise serious doubts about the concept of "ecoviolence" as theorized hither to. Future research should trace the processes through which the "honey pot" of abundant resources promotes bad governance, inequity, poverty, environmental degradation, and conflict. The good news is that human greed and folly, not mother nature, is still the problem for peace. The bad news is that mother nature will continue to suffer given difficulties associated with controlling human nature. Copyright (c) 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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  • Indra de Soysa, 2002. "Ecoviolence: Shrinking Pie, or Honey Pot?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 2(4), pages 1-34, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:2:y:2002:i:4:p:1-34
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    Cited by:

    1. Ajide, Kazeem Bello & Alimi, Olorunfemi Yasiru, 2021. "Environmental impact of natural resources on terrorism in Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    2. Wagschal Uwe & Metz Thomas, 2016. "A Demographic Peace? Youth Bulges and Other Population-Related Causes of Domestic Conflict," Statistics, Politics and Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1-2), pages 55-97, December.
    3. Mehdi Shiva & Andrzej Kwiatkowski, 2014. "Temper and Temperature: The Missing Link of Climate on Armed Conflicts," Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 282, Economic Studies, University of Dundee.
    4. Maria Constantinescu, 2015. "Sustainable Exploitation of Natural Resources and National Security," Acta Universitatis Danubius. OEconomica, Danubius University of Galati, issue 11(5), pages 105-113, October.
    5. Graham Davis, 2011. "The resource drag," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 155-176, June.
    6. Dresse, Anaïs & Nielsen, Jonas Østergaard & Fischhendler, Itay, 2021. "From corporate social responsibility to environmental peacebuilding: The case of bauxite mining in Guinea," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Shiva, Mehdi & Kwiatkowski, Andrzej, 2014. "Temper and Temperature: The Missing Link of Climate on Armed Conflicts," 2007 Annual Meeting, July 29-August 1, 2007, Portland, Oregon TN 2015-30, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    8. Sylvia I. Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen & Nigel Jollands, 2013. "Human security and energy security: a sustainable energy system as a public good," Chapters, in: Hugh Dyer & Maria Julia Trombetta (ed.), International Handbook of Energy Security, chapter 23, pages 507-526, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Ainsley Elbra, 2020. "Fool’s Gold: Business Power and the Evolution of the Conflict‐free Gold Standard," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 11(3), pages 336-346, May.

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