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Weapons of Choice

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  • Dreher, Axel
  • Kreibaum, Merle

Abstract

We investigate the effect of natural resources on whether ethno-political groups choose to pursue their goals with peaceful as compared to violent means, distinguishing terrorism from insurgencies. We hypothesize that organizations are more likely to resort to terrorism rather than rebellion in richer countries where population mobilization is more difficult. We use data from the Minorities at Risk Organizational Behavior (MAROB) project, covering 118 organizations in 13 countries of the Middle East and North Africa over the 1980-2004 period. Our multinomial logit models combine group- and country-specific information and show that ethno-political groups are more likely to resort to rebellion rather than using peaceful means or becoming terrorists when representing regions rich in oil. Groups that participate in exerting power over their region are less likely to turn to large-scale violence.

Suggested Citation

  • Dreher, Axel & Kreibaum, Merle, 2014. "Weapons of Choice," CEPR Discussion Papers 10082, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
  • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10082
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    Cited by:

    1. James A. Piazza, 2016. "Oil and terrorism: an investigation of mediators," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 251-268, December.
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    3. Ajide, Kazeem Bello & Alimi, Olorunfemi Yasiru, 2021. "Environmental impact of natural resources on terrorism in Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. Merrill, Ryan K. & Orlando, Anthony W., 2020. "Oil at risk: Political violence and accelerated carbon extraction in the Middle East and North Africa," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Nguyen, Minh-Hoang, 2021. "Resource curse - Wikipedia," OSF Preprints 36uyb, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Oil; Rebellion; Resource curse; Terrorism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F51 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - International Conflicts; Negotiations; Sanctions
    • Q34 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Natural Resources and Domestic and International Conflicts

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