A working paper by Eoin Mcguire (Brown University) and Marshall Burke (Stanford University) examines the impact of food price increases on conflict in Africa. Under the hypothesis that negative income shocks contribute to the outbreak of conflict, the authors compare the effect of significant increases in food prices in communities that predominantly produce food to the effect in those that predominantly consume food. In food producing areas, conflict driven by food surplus allocations increased but conflict driven by territorial factors decreased. In food consuming areas, both types of conflict increased. When food prices are high, agriculturally productive land is seen as being more valuable, they surmise. For food-producing communities, this is offset by the high opportunity cost of soldiering. Time spent away from fields results in lost productivity at a time when food is especially valuable. Because food consuming regions do not have the same mediating factor, instances of conflict being used as a tool to gain access to land are more common.

Outside voices describe the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as a chaotic battlefield where conflict minerals have helped create “the rape capital of the world.” In a study published in the journal Futures, Jocelyn T.D. Kelly, Alexandria King-Close, and Rachel Perks interview female residents of artisanal mining communities in two districts within the conflict zone to develop a more nuanced understanding of the motivations for women migrating to and residing in artisanal mining communities, their vulnerabilities and resources, and the gaps in programs targeting them. First, many women consciously choose to inhabit mining communities, despite the risks of sexual and physical violence, because of access to employment in the mineral value chain. Second, “there is a perception that services are only available for women who have been raped by armed men,” however, “women describe a complex topography of sexual vulnerability where the lines between forced, coerced, and transactional sex are blurred.” As a result, services that seek to help women relocate or assist victims of sexual violence are not always effective. The authors advise humanitarian and governmental agencies to redesign women’s services to promote fair labor practices, sexual assault prevention and response, and mining sector-specific education.