engleski

The Strong Role of Natural Resources in Secessionist Conflicts: A Comparative Analysis of Main Features

The paper studies the secessionist conflicts that comprise the significant role of natural resources, which causes, prolongs or in rare cases even shortens the length of the secessionist conflict. Since oil is the most important natural resource of the present day, we have focused on studying the role of oil in secessionist conflicts. For a conflict to be designated as “secessionist”, certain prerequisites have to be fulfilled: a region that has certain uniqueness and an identity felt by the majority of its population, different in some way from the rest of the territory that makes up the state. The identity that is different from the identity of the space surrounding the region can be a product of a different nationality, religion, culture and/or history. If this particular region is abundant with resources, chances for a secessionist conflict with resources playing a strong role i.e. a resource conflict that involves an attempt or attempts for secession (or at least a politico-territorial and economic autonomy) from the state rise significantly. Theoretical perspectives consulted for the purpose of this paper are mostly socioeconomic by their character. They are focused on the socio-economic aspects of the resource conflicts, and mostly quantitative. Secessionist conflicts represent a constant reality of the contemporary world. Interests of developed states and emerging economies, which lie in insuring the continuous, undisturbed flow of natural resources (oil and strategic minerals particularly) from the resource rich, albeit mostly poor and unstable countries represent an important factor of the prolongation of resource conflicts.

natural resources ; secession ; conflicts ; oil ; rents ; Sub-Saharan Africa ; South-East Asia and Oceania

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