The Juridification of Resource Conflicts: Legal Cultures, Moralities and Environmental Politics in Central America

During the last decade, violent conflicts over natural resources have escalated and profoundly constrained opportunities for developing sustainable livelihoods. The geographical focus of this project is Central America—the world’s most violent region, where conflicts over mining and water sources have proliferated. Through ethnographic research on the legal actions undertaken by a range of actors over a few selected mining sites, the project seeks to understand the meanings that these actors ascribe to legal mechanisms, and the potential of the jural to provide a peaceful avenue for conflict and to promote sustainable development. The project considers these questions within the wider context of UN-based debates about business and human rights, which share the goal of eradicating corporate human rights abuses and enabling the sustainable development agenda.