Besides greed and grievances

The research examines how the physical and economic characteristics of natural resources predispose them to be exploited by warring factions in Africa. It posits that resources requiring low specialized skills, high portability, and high liquidity (like alluvial diamonds) are more likely to fuel conflict. Conversely, capital-intensive resources (like deep-level gold or oil) are less attractive to rebels but can still be linked to conflict through state weakness and elite rent-seeking. The author emphasizes that while resource characteristics create vulnerabilities, the state's capacity to manage grievances and maintain territorial control determines whether these vulnerabilities lead to actual conflict.

• Natural resources that require minimal specialized skills, are widely scattered, and exist in marketable forms are highly predisposed to exploitation by armed groups for conflict financing. Alluvial diamonds are a primary example due to their superficial deposition and the fact that they can be extracted using rudimentary equipment and low-skilled labour.
• Resources that are small, light, and easy to conceal are preferred by African armed groups because they do not impede the mobility required for guerrilla warfare. Alluvial diamonds are highly portable and durable, whereas oil is voluminous and requires complex transportation, making it more difficult to conceal and transport illegally.
• Resources with a high value-to-weight ratio and high liquidity act as a form of currency for warlords, facilitating the purchase of arms and the storage of wealth. Diamonds are particularly effective in this role because they are readily marketable and can be easily smuggled across international boundaries.
• Capital-intensive resources, such as oil or diamonds in kimberlite formations, are generally unattractive to warlords and rebels because they require high-end specialized skills, heavy machinery, and significant international finance for extraction.
• The role of natural resources in conflict is often secondary to primary drivers; the state's response to these drivers determines if resource characteristics lead to violence. For example, Ghana avoided conflict over alluvial gold and diamonds by legitimizing small-scale miners through licensing, whereas Nigeria's failure to address ethnic minority grievances in the Niger Delta escalated oil-related tensions into a crisis.
• In the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone, the ability of factions to loot natural resources led to the criminalization of combatants and the prolongation of conflict, as actors became more interested in profiteering than in peace or war.

APA

Atta-Asamoah, A. (2013). Besides greed and grievances. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper243.pdf

Chicago

Atta-Asamoah, Andrews. Besides greed and grievances. Institute for Security Studies, 2013. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper243.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Atta-Asamoah |first1=Andrews |title=Besides greed and grievances |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=January 2013 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper243.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{attaasamoah2013besides, author = {Atta-Asamoah, Andrews}, title = {{Besides greed and grievances}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2013}, month = jan, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Paper243.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }