The role of taxation of artisanal mining in conflict-affected contexts From armed predation to ‘informal formalization’?
Authors: Steven Van Bockstael, Jeroen Cuvelier, Koen Vlassenroot, and Josaphat Musamba
ABSTRACT
Abstract: This paper focuses on the taxation of artisanally mined natural resources, in particular high-value minerals, in conflict-affected contexts, by state and non-state armed actors. The taxation of artisanal miners and mineral traders, often part of the informal economy, by armed groups has considerable implications for the building of public authority. Through a systematic review of the literature on artisanal and small-scale mining in conflict-affected contexts, the paper focuses on the linkages between taxation and efforts to formalize informal mining and trading by both state and non-state actors. These taxation practices can range from predatory extraction to legitimacy-seeking efforts that transcend strictly material explanations for rebel taxation. The paper illustrates these dynamics through a concluding discussion of artisanal mining taxation by the M23/AFC rebel coalition, which has recently made significant territorial gains in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Keywords: taxation, artisanal and small-scale mining, armed conflict, armed groups, systematic review, ethnography, Democratic Republic of Congo
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