REsCape: An Agent-Based Framework for Modeling Resources, Ethnicity, and Conflict
The Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Vol. 11, No. 27, 2008
14 Pages Posted: 6 May 2008
Date Written: 2008
Abstract
This research note provides a general introduction to REsCape: an agent-based computational framework for studying the relationship between natural resources, ethnicity, and civil war. By permitting the user to specify: (i) different resource profiles ranging from a purely agrarian economy to one based on the artisanal or industrial extraction of alluvial or kimberlite diamonds; (ii) different patterns of ethnic domination, ethnic polarization, and varying degrees of ethnic salience; as well as (iii) specific modes of play for key agents, the framework can be used to assess the effects of key variables whether taken in isolation or in various combinations on the onset and duration of civil war. Our objective is to make REsCape available as an open source toolkit in the future, one that can be used, modified, and refined by students and scholars of civil war.
Keywords: Agent-Based Model, Ethnicity, Salience, Polarization, Domination, Civil War, Greed, Natural Resources
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