A social science analysis of the growing issue of ‘resource wars,’ in which non-state actors (terrorist and insurgent groups, etc.) and nation-states as well as multinational corporations and international institutions struggle to control the world’s resources. Touches on the issues of ‘petrol violence’ and blood diamonds in Africa as well as the geopolitics of oil. See in particular Le Billon The Geopolitical Economy of ‘Resource Wars’, Le Billon and Fouad El Khatib From Free Oil to ‘Freedom Oil’: Terrorism, War and US Geopolitics in The Persian Gulf, and Susanne Peters Coercive Western Energy Security Strategies: ‘Resource Wars’ as a Threat to Global Security.