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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 12:41 am
Time: 12:41 am
Results for post-conflict violence
1 results foundAuthor: Farah, Douglas Title: Transnational Crime, Social Networks and Forests: Using natural resources to finance conflicts and post-conflict violence Summary: Three case studies are used to argue that transnational organized crime networks for trafficking commodities, specifically timber, emerge in diverse circumstances of state strength and state absence that lead to cycles of violence. Criminal non-state armed actors operate in sub-national territories beyond state control in Petén, Guatemala, and areas of Colombia, while in Liberia, a strong but criminalized state loots the marginalized, resource-rich rural areas, rather than providing a positive state presence. The paper examines the social networks required at different nodes of the commodity chain. In all three cases, the networks rely first on traditional elites to act as local fixers, supplying the criminal state or non-state armed actor with connections to the market and financial networks needed to extract and sell the commodity. These local fixers, in turn, rely on "super fixers" to supply transport as well as weapons, ammunition and war materiel needed to fuel the violence, as well as to connect them to international "shadow facilitators" who can move illicit weapons and commodities, launder money, and obtain the fraudulent international documents, bank accounts, and shell companies needed. Timber, like alluvial diamonds, is as a ‘lootable” commodity-- extractible with low capital and skill requirements and diffusely located but often abundant in remote, porous border regions. Its transport is more bulky and detectable as well as being less valuable than diamonds and cocaine, so illegally sourced timber does not produce the discipline problems and is more easily “laundered” as legal than these other commodities. The environmental devastation created by timber harvest is especially damaging to subsistence forest-dependent communities. Palm oil, the fourth commodity examined, also has severe negative consequences for local communities and environment, but differs in that it requires the displacement of local communities in order to log and establish plantations, and requires time and capital inputs so cannot be quickly looted. Finally, palm oil is a “point source” commodity requiring centralized processing, transport, and management. These characteristics make the value of the forest land the primary source of conflict. Details: Program on Forests (PROFOR), 2012. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 21, 2012 at http://www.profor.info/sites/profor.info/files/Transnationalcrime_Farah.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.profor.info/sites/profor.info/files/Transnationalcrime_Farah.pdf Shelf Number: 126082 Keywords: ForestsNatural ResourcesOrganized CrimePost-Conflict ViolenceTransnational Crime |