Natural resources, organized crime and armed conflict: the case of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front

Abstract

This paper examines the interplay between natural resource exploitation, organized crime, and armed conflicts, focusing on the case of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The research highlights how the illicit diamond trade fueled RUF activities, prolonging the civil war and exacerbating both human rights violations and environmental degradation. The analysis aims to reconstruct the role of extractivism in the genesis and evolution of large-scale criminality, examining the phases before, during, and after the civil conflict.