Abstract/Summary

This article examines the relationship between natural resources and processes of conflict and cooperation as they occur in the Global South. We introduce key issues and reflect on emerging research. With a focus on middle-range theory, moving from empirical phenomena to analytical understanding, what emerges is a nuanced view of conflict and cooperation, as embedded within specific contexts and wider processes of power and accumulation. In considering how social ecological resilience can emerge from the poorest and most marginalised groups in the Global South, middle-range theory built upon comparative case study research and data-rich analyses brings issues of environmental (in)justice in resource access and distribution to the fore. Our conclusions reiterate a view of conflict transformation whose dynamics are locally situated, with complex drivers that negate any conjuring of simplistic solutions and underline the important role research can play in informing appropriate development action.