Violence Over Land in Darfur Demands We Look Again at Links Between Natural Resources and Conflict

Aug 24, 2015 | Brendan Bromwich
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Given that there have been three major peace processes in Sudan’s troubled western province of Darfur, the current escalation of violence indicates that perhaps something about existing approaches is failing to hit the mark. Identifying what is missing is vital – not just for Darfur, but for other areas with similar challenges of state fragility, poverty, and competition over natural resources.

There are clearly major problems with the political process regarding inclusivity and representation. Resolving these issues is of course essential, but that is not the end of the story. The current upsurge in violence – 450,000 displaced in 2014 and another 100,000 in January 2015 alone – has as much to do with increasingly complex and multi-layered disputes over land as with the high politics of the formal peace process.

Given that there have been three major peace processes in Sudan’s troubled western province of Darfur, the current escalation of violence indicates that perhaps something about existing approaches is failing to hit the mark. Identifying what is missing is vital – not just for Darfur, but for other areas with similar challenges of state fragility, poverty, and competition over natural resources.

There are clearly major problems with the political process regarding inclusivity and representation. Resolving these issues is of course essential, but that is not the end of the story. The current upsurge in violence – 450,000 displaced in 2014 and another 100,000 in January 2015 alone – has as much to do with increasingly complex and multi-layered disputes over land as with the high politics of the formal peace process.