The Role of Non-State Actors in the Exploitation of Western Sahara's Natural Resources

Abstract

This article examines the influence of non-state actors – particularly non-governmental organisations – on major import companies, investors, and transporters of Sahrawi natural resources, as well as the bodies of the European Union, its member states, the Polisario Front and, additionally, other non-state actors. The aim is to determine whether these actors have had an impact on changing the strategy of the Polisario Front with respect to its demands, reinforcing the movement’s focus on safeguarding the natural resources of the territory of Western Sahara, protecting them against exploitation, and ensuring that they benefit the Sahrawi people. To that end, the study analyses the actions of non-state actors, the frames they employ, and the levels where they operate. Thanks to more than 20 interviews conducted with the heads of a variety of non-state actors, new research questions have arisen at the same time that awareness has been raised about the importance of renewable resources as an additional object of the claims made by both the Polisario Front and non-governmental organisations.