Intrastate Conflict and Natural Resources: A Question of Geology?

How do natural resources deposits affect how armed actors behave in intrastate conflict? I argue that armed actors use a strategic calculus which includes resource extraction complexity when determining which natural resource deposits to fight over. Although often unaddressed, the extraction process directly affects the ‘lootability’ of a resource as well as the relationship of local, state, and international governments and multinational corporations with the actors that control natural resource deposits. I argue that sedimentary deposits, which pose minor technical complexity and human capital, but are more difficult to exploit than surficial deposits and easier to exploit than igneous or metamorphic deposits, are the most likely sites of violence in intrastate conflict. Using this novel conceptualization of natural resources by geological characteristics, I find support for this hypothesis at the global level.