Exploring the organization and motivations of armed groups in natural resource exploitation: A scoping review

• In Event: WG Organized Crime and Criminal Networks Panel 5. Organized crime: organizational structure & violence

Abstract

The exploitation of natural resources by armed groups is a widespread phenomenon with far-reaching socio-economic and security consequences. Existing literature largely associates this exploitation with violence, focusing predominantly on macro-level structural factors, while fewer studies examine the internal organization of armed groups and the strategies they employ to exploit resources. Additionally, the dominant discourse frames resource exploitation primarily as a means of financing warfare, overlooking the broader benefits armed groups derive beyond profit-making. In this regard, this scoping review systematically examines the organizational strategies armed groups adopt to exploit natural resources and the advantages they derive from it. Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, this study employs a structured methodology to identify and synthesize empirical studies in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed and Google Scholar, spanning multiple countries and resources. This review identifies three predominant, yet overlapping, modes of exploitation: the establishment of taxation systems, where levies are imposed on workers, traders, or transporters for access or protection; partnerships with state or private actors, including corrupt officials, businesses, or intermediaries; and the outsourcing of direct exploitation, where armed groups delegate resource extraction to local communities, criminal networks, or subcontracted labor. This study further highlights the diverse benefits armed groups derive from resource exploitation, including exerting social control over local populations, enhancing governance legitimacy, leveraging resources for strategic advantages in conflict and negotiations, and using resources to finance and expand criminal enterprises. The identified themes opened up for a discussion on the interplay between modes of exploitation, derived benefits, and the use of violence, emphasizing the need for a more comprehensive consideration of these elements in future research of resource-related violence.

Authors

• Lucas Tosi Rodriguez, Université de Lausanne

• Stefano Caneppele, University of Lausanne