The DOI matches its Crossref record; 48 of the 49 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A Diamond Curse?: Civil War and a Lootable Resource
Abstract
While territory, oil, and water are frequently mentioned as resources likely to promote interstate conflict, diamonds have emerged as a prominent factor in explanations of civil war. In this article, the authors report on a new database on diamond deposits and production and analyze the relationship between diamonds and armed conflict incidence. They find a strong bivariate relationship between diamonds (particularly secondary diamonds) and the onset of civil war. Adding diamond dummies to standard models of civil war, the results are more mixed. The production of secondary diamonds increases the risk of onset of ethnic war, but not other types of war. The authors find evidence that secondary diamonds are positively related to the incidence of civil war, especially in countries divided along ethnic lines. Primary diamonds, on the other hand, make ethnic war onset and incidence less likely. The authors also find that the impact of diamonds has been substantially stronger in the post-cold war era.
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“In mineral-rich conflict-affected countries, securing control over resource deposits (oil fields, artisanal gemstone mines) often becomes an end in itself, creating a distinct war economy that prolongs the fighting (134-136).”
From Vicious Circles: Violence, Vulnerability, and Climate Change (2021) · cites this paper as [135]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Lujala, P., Gleditsch, N. P., & Gilmore, E.
- Affiliations
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
- Venue
- Journal of Conflict Resolution
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2005-08
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 538-562
- ISSN
- 0022-0027 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-8766
- OpenAlex
- W1972474624
- Cited by
- 476
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 39 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 21
- FWCI
- 34.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Conflict Resolution (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Natural Resources and Economic Development
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Peacebuilding and International Security
- Keywords
- diamond, civil war onset, ethnic conflict, armed conflict, conflict diamonds, ethnic divisions, post-Cold War, resource curse
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