The Geopolitics of Mineral Supply Chains and Civil Strife: Assessing Corporate Security Alliances in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies | Vol. 10, No. 12, December 2019 | pp. 100–108

DOI: 10.46882/2019/GJPCS/101201

Article Type: Original Research Paper

Title: The Geopolitics of Mineral Supply Chains and Civil Strife: Assessing Corporate Security Alliances in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Authors: Jean-Louis Dupont¹, Tari E. Agbamu²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Centre de Recherches Internationales, Sciences Po, Paris, France; ²Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

Abstract:
This study investigates the structural dynamics linking international green energy mineral supply chains, corporate security spending, and the persistence of localized rebel violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Utilizing a political ecology framework coupled with supply-chain audits and field data gathered across North Kivu between 2017 and 2019, we examine the operational footprints of multinational cobalt and coltan extraction concessions. The field evidence demonstrates that the tactical hiring of public military forces and private security details to protect extraction facilities has fragmented indigenous authority systems and worsened human security indicators. Quantitative metrics establish that communities located near heavily securitized corporate mining zones experience a 48% higher incidence of retaliatory militia raids and illicit mineral smuggling compared to non-securitized mining areas. This trend is driven by unresolved land tenure claims and corporate displacement of local populations. The paper concludes that current international sourcing frameworks fail to verify true compliance at the local level. We argue that regional stability requires establishing legally binding community-corporate benefit agreements that guarantee local asset sharing and environmental restoration.

Keywords: Supply Chains; Resource Conflict; DRC; Corporate Security; Political Ecology; Extraction Concessions

Manuscript Timeline: Received: April 18, 2019; Revised: June 22, 2019; Accepted: August 05, 2019; Published: December 15, 2019

Citation: Dupont, J. L., & Agbamu, T. E. (2019). The Geopolitics of Mineral Supply Chains and Civil Strife: Assessing Corporate Security Alliances in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 10(12), 100–108. DOI: 10.46882/2019/GJPCS/101201

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