IR Theory and State Cooperation on Blood Diamonds

Blood diamonds, or ¿conflict diamonds,¿ have funded rebel movements and terrorist organizations worldwide. Bloodshed over these diamonds, the conflicts they prolonged, and the horrific human rights violations associated with the competition for this natural resource, resulted in an international effort to regulate rough diamonds, and has become an issue for states, institutions, NGOs, media, and the public. Forums were held in 2001, known as the Kimberley Process, to discuss the threat of blood diamonds. With the United Nations¿ support, state and non-state actors devised the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a non-binding agreement to stop the import and export of conflict diamonds. This book examines the utility of four International Relations theories to help explain the existing cooperation of governments, industry, and civil society to address this problem.