GLONEXACO · The Global-Local Nexus of Armed Conflicts: The interlinkages between resource-fuelled armed conflicts and the EU’s raw materials supply
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2015-08-01 → 2018-09-10
- EU contribution
- €257,191
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
The Global-Local Nexus of Armed Conflicts: The interlinkages between resource-fuelled armed conflicts and the EU’s raw materials supply
A considerable part of the world’s natural resources is extracted and traded illegally. This problem occurs often in conflict regions and zones of limited statehood, where it may contribute to the funding of criminal structures, armed rebels groups, or terrorism. An example in Europe’s neighbourhood is the jihadist group “Islamic State” in Syria and Iraq, which has financed itself partly with oil revenues from the controlled territories. But also other commodities, e.g. diamonds, minerals or timber have been linked to the funding of civil wars. These illegally extracted natural resources are often exported to the international markets and enter the supply chain of industry actors all over the world. The political, social and environmental implications of this commerce make it imperative for the EU to look for ways to curtail this illicit trade. Besides these dimensions, there is also an economic element to this issue. As stipulated in the Horizon 2020 Programme, the EU’s industrial base faces the challenges of a high dependence of natural resources imports and often insecure supply lines. This project responds to this situation by developing an analytical framework for natural resource-fuelled conflicts that helps creating policies that curtail the trade in these commodities, without harming the EU’s competitive position by excessive and ineffective regulation.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The project GLONEXACO is coordinated by the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI), an inter-university institute of Barcelona’s public universities (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat Barcelona and Universitat Pompeu Fabra), and will be conducted in collaboration with the Program on Order, Conflict and Violence (OCV) at Yale University. By merging methods of Economic Geography and Conflict Studies, it scrutinises the relationship between local armed conflicts and global market dynamics in the case of natural resource trade. The objective of this research project is to study this illicit trade and to suggest policy options that help to ensure a safe supply of raw materials for Europe’s industry.It brings together two different research fields in an innovative and multidisciplinary analytical framework, called the “Global-Local Nexus of Armed Conflicts” (GLONEXACO). On the one hand, GLONEXACO will incorporate the concept of Global Production Networks (GPN) from the field of Economic Geography to map international trade streams and the role of the involved state and non-state actors. On the other hand GLONEXACO will use elements of conflict studies and look on the microdynamics of civil wars to look on the local dynamics of this trade.In practical terms, the project will use GLONEXACO for the assessment of two case studies (DR Congo and Central African Republic) with the aim of contributing specific policy recommendations both for the EU and other actors about how to curb this trade. The framework potential is not limited to its use with conflict resources, but it will also be applicable to other cases in which global economic dynamics meet local conflicts.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- INSTITUT BARCELONA D ESTUDIS INTERNACIONALS, FUNDACIO PRIVADA · BarcelonaCoordinatorSpain
- YALE UNIVERSITY · New HavenUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union