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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Access to resources and predictability in armed rebellion: the FAPC's short-lived 'Monaco' in eastern Congo
Author:Titeca, KristofISNI
Year:2011
Periodical:Afrika Spectrum (ISSN 0002-0397)
Volume:46
Issue:2
Pages:43-70
Language:English
Geographic term:Congo (Democratic Republic of)
Subjects:militias
natural resources
illicit trade
External link:https://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/461
Abstract:This article discusses the impact of economic resources on the behaviour of an armed group. The availability of resources, and the presence of 'lootable' resources in particular, is presumed to have a negative impact on the way an armed group behaves toward the civilian population. The case of the Armed Forces of the Congolese People (Forces Armées du Peuple Congolais, FAPC) in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) strongly suggests that it is necessary to look beyond this monocausal argument so as to witness the range of other factors at work. In this vein, the article first demonstrates how the political economy literature underestimates the accessibility of lootable resources, and does not distinguish between the exploitation of and the actual trade in these goods. It then shows how the behaviour of this armed group was tied to a particular economic interest: in order to access these lootable goods, the FAPC was dependent on pre-established trading networks, so it had to increase the predictability of economic interactions through the construction of a minimum of social and economic order. Second, the article reveals how the political economy literature can underestimate specific conflict dynamics. Military security in particular has a strong impact in this context. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and German. [Journal abstract]
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