ABSTRACT
Abstract This chapter provides an overview of the recent academic debates about the link between natural resources and conflict, and the policy initiatives in the field of resource governance that have formed the background of the collaborative knowledge, research and innovation programme on Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources in Developing Countries (CoCooN). It aims to highlight the contrasting viewpoints and debates on the nexus between conflict and resources, while simultaneously demonstrating that a level of convergence between those views has been developing over the last decade. Moreover, it demonstrates that several initiatives have been developed in the international and Dutch policy domains that attempt to contain or prevent resource-related conflicts. The chapter also outlines how the CoCooN programme has come into being and how it tries to respond to those debates and policy initiatives.
