Celina So

301197571

POL 342

July 27, 2017

Introduction

The mineral industry of Africa is the largest mineral industries in the world. For many

African countries, mineral exploration and production constitute significant parts of their

economies and remain keys to economic growth. Furthermore, Arica is richly endowed

with mineral reserves and ranks first or second in quantity of world reserves of bauxite,

cobalt, industrial diamond, phosphate rock, platinum-group metals (PGM), vermiculite,

and zirconium. As a result, due to large quantity of natural resources, economists have

talked about the scourge of raw materials, large quantities of rare raw materials putting

Africa under heavy pressures and tensions, leading to wars and slow development

(Muchie, 2013, p. 287). The phenomenon whereby countries with an abundance of

natural resources tend to nonetheless be characterized by lower levels of economic

development is known as the resource curse (Collier , 2000). It attempts to explain,

why in spite of being relatively well endowed with resources, African countries remain

poor and conflict-ridden. And as a result, causing a divide between the Global North and

the Global South. Thus, my focus is how the international agenda and globalization of

natural resources has caused conflict between the Global North and the Global South.

Moreover, leading to the occurrence of many contemporary civil wars particularly those

centered on natural resource wealth.

 Scholar Dena Montague suggest that many Western nations like the United States,

Canada, France, and the United Kingdom as well as emerging economic powerhouses

like China often exploit Africas natural resources today, causing most of the value and

money from the natural resources to go to the West and East Asia rather than Africa,

further causing poverty in Africa (Montague, 2002). Moreover, Montague (2002)

contends the process of economic globalization further provokes mineral conflict.

Globalization, a phenomenon brought about by technological revolutions, is an

increasingly important dimension of international economic relations in terms of its

implications for trade, productive investment and finance (Cheru, 2000). This rapid

interpenetration of economies is facilitated by a global drive for liberalization of markets

and a rapid reduction of the commanding role of the state in national planning. The state

itself, therefore, facilitates globalization, acting as an agent in the process. Moreover, the

rise of globalization has also seen a greater degree of economic differentiation among

developing countries, a factor that has further undermined the ideals of SouthSouth

cooperation (Khor, 2000).

According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),

valuable minerals become conflict minerals when their control, exploitation, trade,

taxation or protection contributes to, or benefits from, armed conflict (US Agency for

International Development (USAID) , 2004, p. 3). Conflict minerals have varied

commodity values and occur in many geographical locations: for example, coltan in

Congo, and diamonds in Sierra Leone. Such incentives resulting in economic

development within the neoliberal economy suggest that there is a divide between the

Global North and the Global South through which natural resources are linked to conflict.

I highlight how the political and socio-economic structures of the international system

affected the foreign policies of the Global South. Lastly, I will identify mineral conflict

examples in Congo and Sierra Leone and seek how globalization and economic

development has impacted them.

History of Africas Mineral Industry

In the millennia preceding colonialism, west and southern Africa were major exporters

of gold to the rest of the world. The competition to find and control sources of raw

materials, including minerals, was one of the main drivers of European penetration and

eventual colonial partition of Africa in the last quarter of the 19th century (Economic

Commission for Africa, 2011). Between 1870 and the Great Depression of 1929 the pre-

colonial patterns of production and consumption of minerals, where these activities were

firmly located and integrated in the local economy, were radically altered and replaced by

a colonially-induced pattern, in which foreign-owned mining enclaves dominated most

colonial African economies. As a result, these mineral-based opportunities attracted

heavy European migration to the colonies where most policies discriminated in favor of

the new immigrants over Africans, both in terms of access to mineral rights and

employment in the mining industry. Africans were usually relegated to low-skilled, low-

wage and dangerous work (Economic Commission for Africa, 2011).

 Due to the rapid expansion of industrialization and technological advancement, the

worlds dominant economies led to demand for exploited minerals and to the discovery

of new uses for known minerals. Cobalt was an important associated mineral and the

copper belt, mainly the Belgian Congo, quickly became its biggest source (Economic

Commission for Africa, 2011). Furthermore, from the 1870s Africa, starting with South

Africa and subsequently the Congo, the Gold Coast and Sierra Leone, came to dominate

world diamond production, a position strengthened from the 1930s by growth in the

Industrial use of diamonds. By the turn of the 20th century South Africa had emerged as a

major producer of diamonds and gold and its considerable and diverse mineral wealth

became globally important (Economic Commission for Africa, 2011). And by 1910,

minerals accounted for more than 80 per cent of South Africas exports, and more than 40

per cent of those from Northern and Southern Rhodesia, the Gold Coast and the Belgian

Congo, and a significant part of those from Angola, Sierra Leone, and South-West Africa

(Economic Commission for Africa, 2011).

Despite the booming natural resource industry, many African countries in the early

1980s were severely in debt, leading the World Bank to become increasingly involved in

designing reforms that were introduced into Africas mining industry (Economic

Commission for Africa, 2011). Eventually, the World Bank concluded that the African

mining industry could not take advantage of the growing demand projections of mineral

commodities during the 1990s because it had not adapted well to the needs of the

industry in the new international context (Economic Commission for Africa, 2011).
 To solve this issue, a study conducted by the future development of the mining

industry suggests that Africa would largely depend on attracting new high risk capital

from foreign mining companies because historically, it was international mining

companies which provided the management and technical capabilities and mobilized the

necessary financing for mining (Economic Commission for Africa, 2011, p. 15). To

adapt to modern conditions of mining, Africa would have to avoid state ownership and

attract private investors to mining. This led to situation of dependency of the World Bank

and the International Monetary Fund (Economic Commission for Africa, 2011).

Furthermore, it provided an opportunity for the Bretton Woods Institutions to broaden the

Western agenda and impose it to the African Government through policy conditionalities

for providing desperately needed credit (Sundaram, Schwank, & Arnim, 2011). And the

end of the cold war marked a period of military interregnums of the Global North states

in many of African countries. The growing militarization of Africa assumed a more

dangerous dimension in the use of small arms, light weapons, the involvement of child

soldiers and the struggle for the control of mineral resources (Carmody, 1998). According

to Ali (2005),

Structural adjustment and the logic of the market, debt crisis and

marginalization have all been intensified by this globalization process and are

also indicators of the process (p. 311).

This has resulted in the role reduction of the State in the provision of social welfare

and employment and hence jobs were cut, currency devalued and promoted inflation.

This also led to social unrest, criticism, and political instability that resulted to the
manifold conflicts which swept across the African states.

Conflict minerals

According to researched Nicholas Cook (2012) the four most prominent conflict

minerals are:

1. Columbite-tantalite, also known as coltan. This is used primarily for the

production of tantalum capacitors, particularly for applications requiring high

performance, a small compact format and high reliability, from hearing aids and

peacemakers to airbags, GPS, ignition systems and anti-lock braking systems in

automobiles, through to laptop computers, mobile phones, video game consoles,

video cameras and digital cameras.

2. Cassiterite is the chief ore needed to produce tin, essential for the production of

tin cans and the solder on the circuit boards of electronic equipment. Tin is also

commonly a component of biocides, fungicides and high performance paint

manufacturing.

3. Wolframite is an important source of the element tungsten. Tungsten is a very

dense metal and is frequently used for this property, such as in fishing weights,

dart tips and golf club heads. Minimal amounts are used in electronic devices,

including the vibration mechanism of cell phones.

 4. Gold is used in jewelry, electronics, and dental products. It is also present in some

chemical compounds used in certain semiconductor manufacturing processes

(Cook, 2012).

The existence of natural resource wealth can be easily monopolized by national elites

as one scholar has observed viewing the international system in terms of unsettled

resource deposits provides a guide to likely conflict zones in the twenty-first century

(Klare, 2001, p. 53). The Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone have suffered

from devastating wars spanning decades and borders in part because of the abundance of

badly managed and violently sought after natural resources. Our focus here is on how

global economic incentives surrounding valuable natural resources facilitate and

influence interstate conflicts.

Examples

Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the most prominent contemporary

example of conflict mineral. As of 2010, the conflict resource fueling the worlds

deadliest war is coltan in the Congo, where various armies, rebel groups, and outside

actors have profited from mining while contributing to violence and exploitation during

wars in the region (Montague, 2002). The heavy presence of multinational corporations

and other private operators take advantage of both the countrys natural resources and

weakness of the regulatory system (Montague, 2002). In fact, rather than scaring off
private capital, conflicts have made the country the magnet of private resource-seeking

capital. The conflicts have been an illustration of negative effects of globalization and

economic development, notably the immense powers of unregulated private global

enterprises (Exenberger & Hartmann, 2007).

Most scholarly and professional literature recognizes the direct role that exploitation

of conflict mineral in the Congo has played in the onset and preservation of warfare,

(Niemann, 2007; Prendergast, 2009) and suggests the role of globalization has had in the

conflict. Recent research conducted by Paul Collier of the World Bank reported that in a

cross-national statistical analysis of civil war onset in 161 countries since 1960, the

extent of primary commodity exports is the strongest single influence on the risk of

conflict (Collier , 2000, p. 10). Therefore, he argues that primary commodity

dependence creates better opportunities to finance rebel groups that in turn enable

rebellion. Niemann (2007) explicitly spoke of globalization and Transnational

Corporations when he stated, cell phones have revolutionized the way we communicate,

but in Central Africa their biggest legacy is war. Nearly 3 millions people have died in

Congoover coltan in the conflict that is really over natural resources sough by

foreign corporations (p. 39). Moreover, Predergast (2009) reported, Consumers in the

United States, Europe, and Asia are the ultimate end-users of these conflict minerals, as

they are inadvertently fuel the war through purchases of these electronics products (p.

300). Thus, the increase in global demand for the price of primary commodities that

makes the DRC highly coveted by commercial interests due to its large endowment in

natural resources.
 War in Congo is directly linked to the control of mineral resources. About 80% of

coltan is used in phone and computer components and found exclusively in Congo

(Prendergast, 2009). Mineral conflict in DRC is due to internal maintenance of socio-

economic hierarchy as it relates to colonial legacy. Due to globalization, there has been a

stronger influence of the national and local elite (Niemann, 2007). Complimentary to this

notion, Jackson (2002) also indicated the prominence of the elite minority in the form of

corrupt government when he reported the government of the DRCexploit minerals

and other resources through stealing stockpiles, entering into agreements with

transnational corporations to produce, procure and sell these resources in a global

market (p. 519). As the countries of the world increase their interdependence and co-

relation, African states, including DRC, are not only forced to deal with establishing

themselves on the ruins of repressive colonial state, but simultaneously adapt to

increasingly globalized, and thus changing markets. Therefore, colonial legacy, which is

reflective and extended in socio-economic hierarchy according to Niemann and Jackson,

proves to be an integral part in both understanding and unpacking the issue of mineral

conflict in the Congo. In addition, increasing conflict and a lack of political infrastructure

create a growing socioeconomic gap between the rich and the poor within DRC, as well

as a divide between DRC and more advanced countries.

Sierra Leone

Another example of recent conflict involving lucrative natural resources is Sierra

Leone that has drawn increasing attention to the link between natural resources and
violence. The eastern and southern districts in Sierra Leone, most notably the Kono and

Kenema districts, are rich in alluvial diamonds. Since their discovery in the early 1930s,

the diamonds have been critical in financing the continuing pattern of corruption and

personal aggrandizement at the expense of needed public services, institutions, and

infrastructure (Hirsch, 2001).

Scholar Phillipe Le Billon (2001) focuses on the economic dimensions of

contemporary conflicts and investigates the relationship between economic globalization,

organized crime, and the illicit trade in natural resources. He argues that in resource-rich

countries, poorly function governance structure, and endemic corruption the

exploitation and trade of natural resources is often controlled by transnational networks

composed of state officials, army officers and/or warlords, private companies, brokers,

entrepreneurs and political and economic elites (Le Billon, 2001). The members of these

networks are seen to derive various personal benefits from their business operations in

unstable environments, where they can easily bend the law to their advantage. Reno

(2006) points out that during the civil war in Sierra Leone, violent political networks

() created a social context in which key officials supported militarized clandestine

commerce in natural resources (p. 39). Correspondingly, Duffield (2001) develops the

concept of emerging political complexes to describe how economic life in many

conflict-affected areas in the global south is dominated by privatized cross-border

networks of state and non-state actors linked to the global shadow economy (p.25).
 David Keen (2005) argues that liberalization policies encouraged by International

Financial Institutions (IFIs) in the 1970s and 1980s both created conditions for war in

Sierra Leone and shaped the character of the conflict. Privatization as stressed by the

World Bank was high jacked by powerful elites who corrupted the process in order to

gain personal wealth (Keen , 2005). The presence of diamonds in Sierra Leone invited

and led to the civil war in several ways. Diamonds helped to arm the Revolutionary

United Front (RUF) rebels. The RUF used funds harvested from the alluvial diamond

mines to purchase weapons and ammunition from neighboring Guinea, Liberia, and even

SLA soldiers. But the most significant connection between diamonds and war is that the

presence of easily extractable diamonds provided an incentive for violence (Keen , 2005).

Furthermore, quantitative research by Ross (2004) examined the relationship between

resource wealth and the onset as well as the duration of civil war is analyzed, it appears

that resources contributed to the outbreak of civil war in Sierra Leone. Of the 13 cases in

this research, Sierra Leone is the only case where grievances stemming from resource

exploitation by companies seem to have played a role in the outbreak of civil war (Ross,

2004). In addition, during the war, both the RUF and the government used resource

wealth for their own ends in such a way that it may have prolonged the war. Both parties

sold so-called booty futures the right to exploit mineral resources that the seller has

not yet captured to foreign actors in order to finance their military activities to further

their international agenda (p. 58-59).

Environmental and Social Impacts of Mineral Conflict

 The dominance of private corporations and MNCs of the Global North in the natural

resource sector has serious implications for conflict and economic development. It is

linked to the abusive exploitation of natural resources with negative effects of society and

the environment.

Environmental Impact

A report by the Vale Columbia Center on mining related infrastructure notes the waste

water created by iron ore mining has an environmental impact which is exacerbated in

Sierra Leone by the heavy rainfall during the wet season (p. 61). Furthermore, while

the EPA and Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources lack the capacity to monitor the

environmental impact of the mining operations, local communities have reported

contamination of surrounding water sources, soil erosion and flooding over and above

heavy seasonal rainfall. For example, communities downstream of African Minerals

mining operations have complained of deteriorating water quality, reflected in the orange

color of the Rokel River water following the commencement of its mining operations (p.

62).

Human Rights Violations

In addition, the exploitation of minerals has been associated with the violation of

human rights. A review of corporate human rights abuses presented by John Ruggie, the

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on human rights and transnational

corporations and other business enterprises, in 2006 showed that of the 65 cases

worldwide covering 27 countries, the oil, gas and mining sector accounted for two-thirds
of the abuse cases (Ruggie, 2007). The situation of coltan and DRC exploits the workers,

particularly child workers. In a report conducted by Amnesty International in 2016,

Unicef estimated that there were 40,000 children working in all the mines across the

south, many involved in mining cobalt (Amnesty International, 2016). The report says

that child miners as young as seven carried back-breaking loads and worked in intense

heat for between one or two dollars a day without face masks or gloves. Several children

said security guards employed by mining companies and forced to pay fines by

unauthorized mines police sent by state officials to extort money and intimidate workers

had beaten them (Amnesty International, 2016). Ultimately, the coltan industry is not

particularly amenable to fair working conditions for its laborers; instead, its largely illicit

and unregulated nature provides ample opportunity for exploitation and human rights

violations.

Conclusion

To conclude, one of the critical elements of conflict minerals is the most recent phase

of globalization, which has increased power and influence of the transnational political,

regulatory and economic institutions; multinational corporations, international financial

institutions, World Bank, and IMF. This resulted in rapid increase in trans border flows

of capital and goods, including arms, raw materials and minerals causing civil war in

DRC and Sierra Leone. The Global North is taking advantage of the ways in which

processes of globalization has empowered non-state trans border actors to further their

international agenda, while simultaneously undermining certain aspects of state capacity.

The gap between rich and poor is caused by exploitation of natural resources in Africa for
Western consumption. The dependency of international guidance from the World Bank

and IMF has promoted political and economic liberalization of the Global North versus

the Global South. By neglecting a particular aspect of globalization that adversely

affected some African states and over-emphasizing the role of corruption has led to

violent conflict, environmental impact, and human rights violation in Africa.

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