Stefan Bakumenko is an independent researcher based in Washington, DC. He has previously worked with Refugees International, the International Peace Institute, and the Center for Civilians in Conflict.
Since Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021, the country has been caught in a bloody civil war. While the army fights bitterly for control over the mines and other industries that fund its war machine, workers pay the cost.
South Sudan’s post-independence instability is often blamed on ethnic tensions. But exploitation by international companies and zero-sum competition over resources between local elites are the real causes of ongoing violence in the country.