Abstract
The authors develop a qualitative geographic research tool for case studies of conflict areas. They believe it can furnish convincing evidence on war motivation. They use the tool to analyze concrete military actions and decisions and to trace them back to what provoked them. They apply it to the conflict situation in the DR Congo between August 2007 and January 2008. In this article special attention is given to the role of natural resources in the armed conflict. Its importance as a war motivation factor is compared to three other conflict drivers found in the literature on the causes of war.
Highlights
We carried out in-depth research on a well-defined time period of the protracted war in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
In our research we have compared the importance of four war motivations that could be driving the conflict and its armed groups
As opposed to persistent popular belief, Congo’s mines are not the main target of the armed groups on its soil
Summary
The sites controlled by the rebel groups are of relatively minor importance, especially when compared with mines from outside the war provinces. Other motives, such as grievances and security, deserve at least as much attention as natural resources. At the time of writing this article (October 2008), Laurent Nkunda has transformed his CNDP into a movement that will pursue the “total liberation” of the DRC He has taken over the administration of the regional capital of Rutshuru and he would have captured the provincial capital of Goma had not the United Nations intervened. His change of discourse has generated a change in his battlefield behavior, which could be convincingly illustrated on an accurate map
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