Political ecology and the moral dimensions of “resource conflicts”: the case of farmer–herder conflicts in the Sahel

Conflicts associated with natural resource use are common in rural areas of Africa. Political ecologyʹs analytical and methodological foci on these conflicts is shared by other quite different schools of thought that strongly influence policies on environment and development. The influential “environmental security” and “common property management” perspectives generally conceptualize resource-related conflicts as scarcity-driven while political ecologists have made major contributions toward more multidimensional, complex views about the genesis of resource-related conflict. This paper explores two moral dimensions of resource conflict. First, it continues the tradition within political ecology of questioning popular notions of resource conflict. It does so by analyzing farmer–herder conflict in the Sahel—a type of resource-related conflict that seemingly fits the view that conflict is generated from increased competition over a dwindling pool of resources. By seriously engaging with the materiality of agropastoral production, this paper illuminates the complex relationships between political interests, moralities, and resource access that underlie these conflicts. Second, this paper considers the ethics of how we portray resource conflict. In the present policy context in Africa, overly-simplistic treatments of resource conflict by political ecologists or others may unintentionally support programs that are likely to negatively impact the human subjects of research, conservation or development.