Resource War Impacts

WWU Debate resource wars 8/16/03

1 Savage String Bean

Resource Wars Resource Wars Impacts .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Resource Wars Impacts .................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Resource Wars Will Be Biggest In Africa................................................................................................................................... 4

WWU Debate resource wars 8/16/03

2 Savage String Bean

Resource Wars Impacts Resource wars will become the biggest threat to global security Michael T. Klare 2001 Resource Wars Director of the Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies based at Hampshire College in Amherest, MA. It is the central thesis of this book that resource wars will become, in the years ahead, the most distinctive feature of the global security environment. This is so for all of the reasons outlined in previous chapters: the priority accorded to economic considerations by national leaders, the ever-growing demand for a wide range of basic commodities, looming shortages of certain key materials, social and political instability in areas harboring major reserves of vital commodities, and the proliferation of disputes over the ownership of important sources of supply- As noted, some of these problems will be mitigated by market forces and the onward progress of technology; others, however, will be exacerbated by the corrosive side effects of globalization.

Resource scarcity perpetuates gaps between the rich and poor and leads to revolt and ethnic partition Michael T. Klare 2001 Resource Wars Director of the Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies based at Hampshire College in Amherest, MA. The risk of internal conflict over resources is further heightened by the growing divide between the rich and the poor in many developing countries—a phenomenon widely ascribed to globalization. While those at the top of the economic ladder are able to procure the basic necessities of life, those at the bottom are finding themselves increasingly barred from access to such vital commodities as food, land, shelter, and safe drinking water. As supplies con tract and the price of many materials rises, the poor will find themselves in an increasingly desperate situation—and thus more inclined to heed the exhortations of demagogues, fundamentalists, and extremists who promise to relieve their suffering through revolt or ethnic partition. “The distribution of [economic] competitiveness is now uneven,” the Institute for National Security Studies observed in 1999. “This pattern raises the disturbing prospect of a ‘globalization gap’ between winners and losers. . . . Leaders of the losers often blame outsiders or unpopular insiders for economic hardship. Some foment crises to distract domestic attention from joblessness and hunger.”” This danger will only grow more acute as increased economic competition and pressure from international lending agencies force the governments of developing nations to eliminate subsidies on food and other basic commodities and to privatize such essential services as water delivery. A foretaste of this was provided in April 2000, when Bolivia’s major cities were paralyzed by protests against a government plan to privatize municipal utilities and impose fees on drinking water. At least five people died in skirmishes with the police, and many more were injured. Order was restored only after President Hugo Banzer declared a state of emergency and ordered army troops to clear major thoroughfares 52

WWU Debate resource wars 8/16/03

3 Savage String Bean

Resource Wars Impacts Resource wars take a high toll on both human life and the environment Michael T. Klare 2001 Resource Wars Director of the Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies based at Hampshire College in Amherest, MA. Protracted warfare over valuable resources, involving combat between government forces, warlords, insurgents, and various private interests, has become a conspicuous feature of the post-Cold war landscape. These contests have produced an enormous toll in human life, accompanied in many cases by severe environmental damage Typically, wars of this type have erupted in poor and undeveloped areas , where the ownership (or control) of major sources of minerals or timber is a pivotal factor in domestic power struggles. The conditions that give rise to these conflictshigh external demand for resources combined with unrepresentative governments and ruthless political factions-are likely to persist in the years ahead.

Even if not the root cause, resource shortages spill over and accelerate other hostilities to war Michael T. Klare 2001 Resource Wars Director of the Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies based at Hampshire College in Amherest, MA. Resource competition will not, of course, prove the sole source of conflict in the twenty-first century. Other factors—ethnic hostility, economic injustice, political competition, and so on—will also lead to periodic outbreaks of violence. Increasingly, however, these factors will be linked to disputes over the Possession of (or access to) vital materials . However divided two states or societies may be over matters of politics or religion, the likelihood of their engaging in mutual combat becomes considerably greater when one side believes that its essential supply of water, food, or energy is threatened by the other. And with the worldwide availability of many key resources facing eventual decline, the danger of resources facing eventual decline, the danger of resource disputes intruding into other areas of disagreement can only increase.

WWU Debate resource wars 8/16/03

4 Savage String Bean

Resource Wars Will Be Biggest In Africa Africa will have the greatest resource wars Michael T. Klare 2001 Resource Wars Director of the Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies based at Hampshire College in Amherest, MA. Africa is also likely to witness greater resource conflict in the years ahead. All of the preconditions for recurring violence can be found here: large- concentrations of vital materials, numerous territorial disputes in areas harboring valuable deposits, widespread political in stability and factionalism, the presence of private armies and mercenaries, and a history of collaboration between foreign resource firms and local warlords. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, various coalitions of domestic, local, and regional interests have been formed to acquire control over the country's vast supplies of timber, gems, oil, and minerals. As we have seen, a similar pattern is evident in Sierra Leone.