ABSTRACT
In March 1991, Sierra Leone erupted into conflict that lasted for over a decade and became the epitome of the so-called ‘new wars’ of the post-Cold War era. For Mary Kaldor, these “‘new wars” involve a blurring of the distinctions between wars … organized crime … and large-scale violations of human rights’ (Kaldor, 2001, p. 2). Political economy analysts like Collier link the outbreak of these conflicts to greed and economic opportunism rather than structural inequalities and deeprooted grievances. The conflict in Sierra Leone has therefore been presented in most academic and media circles as a conflict over diamonds. However, limiting the causal factors to economic opportunism certainly distorts a clear understanding of the underlying factors and further complicates the process of resolving conflicts. Whilst not outrightly dismissing greed and ‘conflict diamonds’ as contributing factors to the conflict in Sierra Leone, this chapter argues that the root causes of the civil war must be located in the patron-clientelistic politics that is characteristic of failed states. Greed can be better understood as a factor that fuelled and further protracted the conflict. It is in this context that the study and analysis of conflict diamonds becomes relevant.
