Resources, conflict and governance: A critical review

The past two decades have witnessed growing concerns in policy circles about the role of natural resources in conflicts in the Global South. New frameworks of intervention have been designed with the aim of cutting the assumed links between armed groups and resources, and promoting transparent models of resource governance. This article argues that these interventions are often based on unwarranted assumptions about the relationship between resources, conflict and governance. It presents a critical analysis of a broad set of peer-reviewed publications and influential research reports about the different ways resource governance affects people in fragile and conflict-affected areas. The authors identify a number of gaps and weaknesses in the literature, pay particular attention to the quality of the empirical evidence base for certain theoretical claims, and suggest avenues for future research.