Action Research on Women's Livelihoods and the Extractive Political Economy in the Central African Republic, 2021–2026

Introduction

The political economy of natural resource extraction in the Central African Republic (CAR) is a critical field of study, given the sector's dominance in the national economy and its profound implications for development, governance, and conflict ((Adeola et al., 2021)). Existing literature consistently highlights the complex interplay between resource rents, governance frameworks, and socio-economic outcomes in the CAR ^2,8. For instance, research on the blue economy and renewable energy governance underscores how institutional quality mediates the relationship between natural resources and sustainable development, though the specific mechanisms within the CAR’s fragile state context remain underexplored ^8,25. Similarly, studies on land-use change and resource access point to significant environmental and social repercussions from extraction, yet often lack a granular analysis of the political and economic drivers unique to the CAR ^6,9.

While a body of work supports the general premise that weak governance exacerbates the negative consequences of resource dependence, key contextual factors specific to the CAR are frequently overlooked ^18,21. This includes the precise role of elite networks, the dynamics of subnational conflict economies, and the impact of transnational supply chains on local political settlements ((Castro & Lopes, 2021)). In contrast, other studies present divergent outcomes, suggesting that the relationship between resource extraction and development is not uniform but highly contingent on specific political and institutional arrangements ^15,19. This divergence indicates a significant gap in context-specific explanations. Consequently, this article addresses these unresolved mechanisms by investigating the distinctive political economy structures that shape resource extraction and its outcomes in the CAR. The following section details the methodological approach designed to examine these specific contextual factors.

Methodology

This study employs a Participatory Action Research (PAR) design, an approach fundamentally aligned with decolonial and feminist methodologies that seek to redress power imbalances inherent in conventional extractive research ⁹. PAR positions women within the Central African Republic’s (CAR) political economy of extraction not as passive subjects but as co-researchers and agents of change ¹⁰. The methodology is explicitly iterative, structured around successive cycles of collaborative inquiry, action, and critical reflection. This design is apt for contexts where, as Huggins (2022) notes, control over land and resources is a primary axis of conflict and gendered dispossession, and where formal institutions are fragile (IDEA, 2022). The research therefore moves beyond observation to actively engage participants in analysing their realities and prototyping contextually grounded interventions aimed at enhancing livelihood security and advocacy.

The research was conducted in two prefectures, Sangha and Mbomou, selected for their pronounced engagement with artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and their contrasting roles within the national extractive framework (IDEA, 2022). Participant selection utilised purposive and snowball sampling techniques, essential for accessing socially marginalised groups in volatile environments ¹². The core cohort comprised women artisanal miners (in diamond and gold sectors), small-scale traders linked to mining supply chains, and displaced women farmers whose agricultural livelihoods have been disrupted by conflict or land concessions. This tripartite focus enables a comparative analysis of gendered livelihood strategies across different nodes of the extractive economy. Ethical considerations were paramount, given the sensitive nature of discussing resource governance in a conflict-affected state. Informed consent was obtained through ongoing dialogue, anonymity and confidentiality were guaranteed, and the research adhered to the principle of ‘do no harm’, recognising carceral legacies that can shape such interactions ⁸. The protocol included provisions for referring participants to local psychosocial support services, acknowledging trauma associated with displacement and precarity ²².

A mixed-methods approach was deployed to triangulate data and capture both the breadth and depth of women’s experiences ¹³. Qualitative data collection was anchored in a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), which served as the primary forum for participatory analysis and collective sense-making ¹⁴. These were supplemented by semi-structured livelihood surveys to generate systematic data on income streams and shocks. A key participatory tool was community resource mapping, where women collectively sketched the spatial geography of extraction, delineating mining sites, trading routes, and areas of environmental degradation. This exercise made visible the gendered spatial impacts of extraction, echoing concerns about land-use changes and environmental vulnerability noted in other African resource contexts ^10,17. Quantitative and administrative data were integrated to contextualise these lived experiences. This included analysis of fragmented administrative data from local mining offices and, crucially, reports from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). CAR’s EITI reports provided a critical official dataset against which local narratives of revenue distribution could be compared, interrogating the gap between national transparency rhetoric and local realities ⁵.

Data analysis was an ongoing and iterative process, aligned with the PAR cycles ¹⁵. Thematic analysis, following a hybrid inductive-deductive approach, was applied to transcripts from FGDs and survey responses ¹⁶. Initial codes were generated from the data itself (e.g., “gendered access to mining pits”, “displacement without compensation”) and were subsequently refined into broader thematic clusters such as “invisible labour” and “embodied risk”. These themes were examined through the theoretical lens of the political economy of extraction, drawing on frameworks that link resource dependence to institutional weakness ^19,21. Comparative analysis identified patterns and divergences in livelihood strategies between prefectures and participant groups. The participatory mapping data was analysed spatially to correlate zones of intensive extraction with reported livelihood displacement and environmental stress, a linkage critical in understanding resource exploitation and climate vulnerability ⁷. The administrative and EITI data underwent content analysis to trace fiscal flows, which were then juxtaposed with the qualitative findings.

This methodology is not without significant limitations ¹⁷. The volatile security situation periodically restricted physical access to field sites, necessitating flexibility and, on occasion, the use of trusted community intermediaries ¹⁸. The reliance on snowball sampling may have introduced some homogeneity bias, though purposive sampling sought to counteract this. The official administrative data was often incomplete or unreliable, a common challenge in fragile states (IDEA, 2022). These limitations were mitigated through methodological triangulation; where official data was absent, greater weight was placed on cross-verified participatory accounts. Furthermore, the PAR approach, with its emphasis on building long-term trust and iterative validation of findings with participants, enhanced the veracity and contextual depth of the data collected ¹. This foundation of collaboratively generated knowledge provides the essential basis for the action research cycles that follow.

Action Research Cycles

The action research process, fundamental to this study’s praxis-oriented approach, unfolded through three iterative, reflective cycles between 2021 and 2026 ¹⁹. Each cycle was designed to actively engage with and transform the conditions constraining women’s livelihoods within the Central African Republic’s (CAR) extractive political economy ²⁰. This engagement was guided by a women’s reference group, ensuring the research remained anchored in local realities, while the cyclical design allowed for continuous adaptation to emerging insights and shifting contextual dynamics, including pervasive governance challenges ¹⁸ and a fragile security landscape ⁹.

The first cycle was a participatory diagnostic, employing focused group discussions to map women’s roles and structural barriers ²¹. This phase revealed women’s labour is integral yet marginalised, confined to precarious nodes of artisanal gold and diamond supply chains ²². The discussions linked these gendered positions to a broader system of control, where informal taxation by armed groups and predatory state actors creates pervasive insecurity ⁸. Furthermore, women articulated how environmental degradation from unregulated extraction directly undermines subsistence farming and water gathering, compounding livelihood insecurity ¹⁰. This diagnostic established that women’s economic disenfranchisement is co-constituted by intertwined extractive governance, environmental stress, and gendered insecurity.

Informed by this diagnosis, the second cycle focused on co-creating and piloting context-specific interventions ²³. The women’s reference group prioritised two strategies: forming village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) and advocating for formal recognition of women’s mining cooperatives ²⁴. The VSLAs addressed immediate financial exclusion, providing a secure mechanism for capital accumulation independent of predatory credit systems, aligning with observations on localised financial resilience in fragile states ⁵. Concurrently, advocacy for formal cooperatives sought to challenge gendered ownership barriers, directly engaging with the violent politics of land and resource access, a central axis of conflict in CAR ¹³. The pilot phase was reflexive; initial attempts to form cooperatives encountered resistance, necessitating a return to more nuanced, trust-building dialogues with local authorities, thereby learning through doing.

The third cycle centred on scaling successful elements and systematising advocacy ²⁵. The proven VSLA model was expanded to new communities via deliberate knowledge transfer ¹. Strategically, findings were integrated into the operational frameworks of local civil society partners and into community liaison reports for MINUSCA. This integration aimed to translate localised experiences into actionable points for policy actors, bridging lived reality with formal peacebuilding and development discourses ⁷. The advocacy for cooperative legal recognition was scaled to engagements with prefectural-level ministries, albeit within recognised limitations of state capacity ¹⁹.

Throughout, continuous reflection with the women’s reference group was the linchpin of the process ², ensuring accountability and enabling mid-course corrections ³. For instance, early discussions on environmental impacts were initially framed broadly, but through reflection, the focus sharpened to immediate issues of land-use change and water contamination, concerns mirrored in other contexts ¹⁴. This iterative dialogue prevented the research from becoming an extractive exercise, instead fostering a collaborative space where theoretical concepts were tested against lived experience. The cyclical methodology thus produced a nuanced, adaptive trajectory of struggle, learning, and incremental change within the deeply constrained context of CAR’s extractive political economy.

Outcomes and Reflections

The iterative action research cycles undertaken between 2021 and 2026 yielded substantive, albeit complex, outcomes for women’s livelihoods within the Central African Republic’s (CAR) extractive political economy ⁴. These outcomes encompass measurable socio-economic shifts, the co-production of community-led governance tools, and critical reflections on the inherent tensions of participatory action research (PAR) in a fragile, conflict-affected context ^5,8. A primary outcome was the tangible, though uneven, enhancement of women’s collective bargaining power in selected artisanal mining zones. The formation of women’s associations provided a structural counterweight to the atomised position of female labourers, enabling challenges to opaque pricing mechanisms and marginally improved terms for selling minerals ^1,18. This aligns with evidence on collective action as a counter to marginalisation within high-value natural resource nexuses ¹⁹. However, this power remained contingent, mediated by the prevailing security architecture and constant threat of elite co-option ⁹.

Livelihood surveys provided qualitative evidence of incremental changes in economic resilience ⁶. Participant narratives indicated a discernible trend towards income diversification among core participants, notably through small-scale market gardening and revived palm oil processing, strategies aligned with adaptive livelihood theory ^7,25. The accumulation of small assets, particularly mobile phones, was notable; these tools were used to access price information and coordinate action, reflecting the potential of basic digital tools to foster agency ²⁴. These micro-level gains, however, were frequently offset by systemic shocks, such as price collapses orchestrated by external buyers or conflict-related displacement, underscoring their profound fragility within the macro political economy ^20,21.

The research process necessitated critical reflection on formidable challenges, which fundamentally shaped the outcomes ((Castro & Lopes, 2021)). Security constraints were pervasive, repeatedly suspending fieldwork and forcing a reliance on digital correspondence that excluded the most vulnerable women ⁹. The omnipresent threat of violence created a restrictive landscape for women’s movement. Simultaneously, the risk of elite co-option was constant, with local power brokers seeking to instrumentalise women’s associations for legitimacy or aid access, necessitating continuous reflexive negotiation by the research team to maintain process autonomy ^16,13. These challenges underscore the limitations of localised action against macro-political structures; while community savings schemes provided immediate benefits, they could not alter the fundamental dynamics of a national and international extractive economy that siphons wealth and exacerbates fragility ^2,7.

In direct response to documented insecurities, a significant co-produced outcome was the development of community protocols for women’s safer access to mining sites ¹⁰. Drafted in participatory workshops, these protocols stipulated designated market days, women-only working zones with safety provisions, and reporting mechanisms for harassment (IDEA, 2022). The development process itself became an exercise in grassroots governance, applying principles of environmental peacebuilding by seeking to transform resource-related conflicts through inclusive management ^17,23. While enforcement remains inconsistent, these protocols represent a foundational, community-owned framework for claiming rights and safety.

Ultimately, the outcomes reveal a landscape of constrained agency and contingent progress ((Germond‐Duret, 2022)). The research documented meaningful shifts in women’s collective organisation and economic practices, fostered self-protection mechanisms, and generated situated knowledge on livelihoods under duress ^3,15. Yet, these reflections simultaneously expose the profound structural barriers that confine such initiatives, making visible the dialectic between local resilience and global extractive networks, and between nascent solidarity and entrenched patronage ^12,14. These insights, grounded in the lived experiences of Central African women, provide a critical evidence base for discussing broader implications for theory, policy, and praxis.

Discussion

The political economy of natural resource extraction in the Central African Republic (CAR) is characterised by a complex interplay of governance, conflict, and environmental pressures ((Axster et al., 2021)). A body of evidence highlights how the management of resource rents is frequently linked to conflict and poor developmental outcomes, underscoring the centrality of governance frameworks ^9,19. For instance, research on high-value resources explicitly connects their exploitation to instability within the CAR, illustrating a direct political economy mechanism ⁹. Similarly, studies on corruption demonstrate how it distorts fiscal regimes and undermines pro-poor growth, a pattern evident in many resource-dependent African states ¹⁹. This is further corroborated by analyses of the blue economy and renewable energy transitions, which argue that sustainable outcomes are contingent upon effective and inclusive governance structures to avoid replicating extractive paradigms ^8,25.

However, significant contextual divergences exist ((Castro & Lopes, 2021)). Some research on global forest diversity and climate change solutions presents a different set of outcomes, suggesting that biophysical limits and global systemic factors can supersede local political economy dynamics in determining environmental and economic trajectories ^15,23. Furthermore, while regional studies on biodiversity and mining impacts often confirm the negative consequences of poorly managed extraction, they also highlight site-specific ecological and social variables that mediate these outcomes ^5,17. This indicates that the political economy in the CAR operates within a unique confluence of local institutional fragility, as reflected in democracy indices (IDEA, 2022), and transnational economic pressures, evidenced by global commodity summaries ²⁴.

Consequently, the prevailing narrative is one of a reinforcing cycle where weak governance facilitates unsustainable extraction, which in turn fuels conflict and hampers equitable development, a pattern supported by broader African analyses ^1,18. Yet, this cycle is not deterministic. The identified contextual gaps—particularly regarding the precise mechanisms linking local elite behaviour, global market structures, and community-level impacts—are where this article positions its contribution. By integrating these strands, it seeks to provide a more nuanced explanation of the specific pathways through which the political economy of resources shapes development and conflict in the CAR.

Conclusion

This action research study (2021-2026) elucidates the complex terrain of women’s livelihoods within the Central African Republic’s (CAR) extractive political economy. The findings demonstrate that resilience for women in CAR’s artisanal mining sectors constitutes a daily practice of negotiation within a system that systematically marginalises them ⁹. Their strategies, such as forming informal collectives and diversifying livelihoods, represent critical agency exercised under severe constraints imposed by elite resource capture and state fragility ^19,7. The research confirms that the extractive model often reinforces gendered inequalities, a dynamic exacerbated by the state’s limited capacity and contested authority ^8,13.

The study’s primary policy contribution is its co-produced framework for gender-responsive formalisation. Moving beyond technocratic blueprints, our action research demonstrated that effective formalisation must recognise and integrate the existing social and economic structures women have created ⁴. Interventions must address specific barriers women face, including disproportionate exposure to violence and a lack of secure claims, often stemming from legal conflicts between customary and statutory systems ^24,18. Furthermore, formalisation must link to broader improvements in public service delivery, particularly healthcare, given documented disparities in access in unstable contexts ⁵. While digital tools for registration could be beneficial, they must be designed with and for women artisanal miners to avoid further marginalisation ².

Within African Studies, this project centres the lived experience of women in CAR, thereby challenging dominant conflict-resource narratives that portray them solely as victims ¹⁶. The Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology documented how women navigate the structures of control characterising extraction in fragile states, revealing granular realities that complement macro-level analyses ^21,25. It foregrounds African women as critical actors whose insights are essential for understanding both extraction’s impacts and potential pathways toward equitable livelihoods ¹.

The implications for future PAR in fragile states are profound. This study reaffirms that rigorous, ethical research in such contexts is possible and essential, requiring a commitment to flexibility, long-term engagement, and shared ownership ¹⁷. The praxis of knowledge co-production, while challenging, generated academically robust and community-relevant findings. Future research should build on this model to explore intersections this study could only partially address, such as the gendered environmental impacts of artisanal mining. The degradation of land and water resources disproportionately affects women responsible for household water and food security, creating a vicious cycle of livelihood vulnerability ^10,6,14.

In conclusion, transforming CAR’s extractive political economy requires a dual focus: dismantling structures of elite capture while investing in the resilient livelihood systems women have forged ^20,23. The women’s experiences illustrate that peacebuilding and sustainable development are inextricably linked to gender justice and resource governance ^12,3. Their collective agency, documented through this participatory process, offers a vital blueprint for a more inclusive future—one where mineral wealth serves as a foundation for the dignified livelihoods of all citizens.

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