Causes of Conflict in the
Developing World
Francis Stewart, Director,
Development Studies,
Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford 2002
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Summary:
"Poverty and political, social, and
economic inequalities between groups predispose to
conflict; policies to tackle them will reduce this
risk. Eight out of 10 of the world's poorest countries
are suffering, or have recently suffered, from large
scale violent conflict. Wars in developing countries
have heavy human, economic, and social costs and are a
major cause of poverty and underdevelopment. This
article reviews the evidence on the root causes of
conflict and suggests some policy responses that should
be adopted to reduce the likelihood of future
war....Many groups of people who fight together
perceive themselves as belonging to a common culture
(ethnic or religious), and part of the reason that they
are fighting may be to maintain their cultural
autonomy. For this reason, there is a tendency to
attribute wars to "primordial" ethnic passions, which
makes them seem intractable. This view is not correct,
however, and diverts attention from important
underlying economic and political factors. Although a
person's culture is partly inherited it is also
constructed and chosen, and many people have multiple
identities...In wars political leaders may deliberately
"rework historical memories" to engender or strengthen
this identity in the competition for power and
resources...
Although this article has concentrated
on the causes of conflict within countries, much of the
analysis is relevant to the international situation.
The sharp economic and social differences between
Western societies and the Muslim world are a clear
example of international horizontal inequalities.
These, together with the widespread impoverishment in
many Muslim countries, permit leaders such as Osama Bin
Laden and Saddam Hussein to mobilise support only too
effectively along religious lines."
