The "White Gold of Jihad": violence, legitimisation and contestation in anti-poaching strategies

A critical analysis reveals how the militarization of anti-poaching strategies in Garamba National Park, particularly against elephant poaching, has been legitimized through two dominant threat discourses: the ivory-crime-terror linkage and the 'ChinaAfrica' threat. This study demonstrates that such violence, often justified as a necessary measure for conservation, is based on ahistorical and depoliticized assumptions, while also exploring contestations from other actors. The research employs discourse analysis to dissect how poaching has been discursively constructed as a human concern, appealing to actors beyond the traditional conservation community. The case of the Lord's Resistance Army's poaching activities in Garamba underscores the flawed foundations of these strategies.

White, N. (2014). The “White Gold of Jihad”: violence, legitimisation and contestation in anti-poaching strategies. Journal of Political Ecology, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.2458/v21i1.21146