States Scarcity And Civil Strife In The Developing World

Author : Colin H. Kahl
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 333 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2018-06-05
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780691188379

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States, Scarcity, and Civil Strife in the Developing World by Colin H. Kahl Pdf

Over the past several decades, civil and ethnic wars have undermined prospects for economic and political development, destabilized entire regions of the globe, and left millions dead. States, Scarcity, and Civil Strife in the Developing World argues that demographic and environmental stress--the interactions among rapid population growth, environmental degradation, inequality, and emerging scarcities of vital natural resources--represents one important source of turmoil in today's world. Kahl contends that this type of stress places enormous strains on both societies and governments in poor countries, increasing their vulnerability to armed conflict. He identifies two pathways whereby this process unfolds: state failure and state exploitation. State failure conflicts occur when population growth, environmental degradation, and resource inequality weaken the capacity, legitimacy, and cohesion of governments, thereby expanding the opportunities and incentives for rebellion and intergroup violence. State exploitation conflicts, in contrast, occur when political leaders themselves capitalize on the opportunities arising from population pressures, natural resource scarcities, and related social grievances to instigate violence that serves their parochial interests. Drawing on a wide array of social science theory, this book argues that demographically and environmentally induced conflicts are most likely to occur in countries that are deeply split along ethnic, religious, regional, or class lines, and which have highly exclusive and discriminatory political systems. The empirical portion of the book evaluates the theoretical argument through in-depth case studies of civil strife in the Philippines, Kenya, and numerous other countries. The book concludes with an analysis of the challenges demographic and environmental change will pose to international security in the decades ahead.

Author : Thomas F. Homer-Dixon
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2010-07-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781400822997

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Environment, Scarcity, and Violence by Thomas F. Homer-Dixon Pdf

The Earth's human population is expected to pass eight billion by the year 2025, while rapid growth in the global economy will spur ever increasing demands for natural resources. The world will consequently face growing scarcities of such vital renewable resources as cropland, fresh water, and forests. Thomas Homer-Dixon argues in this sobering book that these environmental scarcities will have profound social consequences--contributing to insurrections, ethnic clashes, urban unrest, and other forms of civil violence, especially in the developing world. Homer-Dixon synthesizes work from a wide range of international research projects to develop a detailed model of the sources of environmental scarcity. He refers to water shortages in China, population growth in sub-Saharan Africa, and land distribution in Mexico, for example, to show that scarcities stem from the degradation and depletion of renewable resources, the increased demand for these resources, and/or their unequal distribution. He shows that these scarcities can lead to deepened poverty, large-scale migrations, sharpened social cleavages, and weakened institutions. And he describes the kinds of violence that can result from these social effects, arguing that conflicts in Chiapas, Mexico and ongoing turmoil in many African and Asian countries, for instance, are already partly a consequence of scarcity. Homer-Dixon is careful to point out that the effects of environmental scarcity are indirect and act in combination with other social, political, and economic stresses. He also acknowledges that human ingenuity can reduce the likelihood of conflict, particularly in countries with efficient markets, capable states, and an educated populace. But he argues that the violent consequences of scarcity should not be underestimated--especially when about half the world's population depends directly on local renewables for their day-to-day well-being. In the next decades, he writes, growing scarcities will affect billions of people with unprecedented severity and at an unparalleled scale and pace. Clearly written and forcefully argued, this book will become the standard work on the complex relationship between environmental scarcities and human violence.

Author : Professor Thomas F Homer-Dixon
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 1999-01-01
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1400816505

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Environment, Scarcity, and Violence by Professor Thomas F Homer-Dixon Pdf

The Earth's human population is expected to pass eight billion by the year 2025, while rapid growth in the global economy will spur ever increasing demands for natural resources. The world will consequently face growing scarcities of such vital renewable resources as cropland, fresh water, and forests. Thomas Homer-Dixon argues in this sobering book that these environmental scarcities will have profound social consequences--contributing to insurrections, ethnic clashes, urban unrest, and other forms of civil violence, especially in the developing world. Homer-Dixon synthesizes work from a wide range of international research projects to develop a detailed model of the sources of environmental scarcity. He refers to water shortages in China, population growth in sub-Saharan Africa, and land distribution in Mexico, for example, to show that scarcities stem from the degradation and depletion of renewable resources, the increased demand for these resources, and/or their unequal distribution. He shows that these scarcities can lead to deepened poverty, large-scale migrations, sharpened social cleavages, and weakened institutions. And he describes the kinds of violence that can result from these social effects, arguing that conflicts in Chiapas, Mexico and ongoing turmoil in many African and Asian countries, for instance, are already partly a consequence of scarcity. Homer-Dixon is careful to point out that the effects of environmental scarcity are indirect and act in combination with other social, political, and economic stresses. He also acknowledges that human ingenuity can reduce the likelihood of conflict, particularly in countries with efficient markets, capable states, and aneducated populace. But he argues that the violent consequences of scarcity should not be underestimated--especially when about half the world's population depends directly on local renewables for their day-to-day well-being. In the next decades, he writes, growing scarcities will affect billions of people with unprecedented severity and at an unparalleled scale and pace. Clearly written and forcefully argued, this book will become the standard work on the complex relationship between environmental scarcities and human violence.

Author : Lael Brainard,Derek Chollet
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2007-12-31
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780815713760

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Too Poor for Peace? by Lael Brainard,Derek Chollet Pdf

Extreme poverty exhausts institutions, depletes resources, weakens leadership, and ultimately contributes to rising insecurity and conflict. Just as poverty begets insecurity, however, the reverse is also true. As the destabilizing effects of conflict settle in, civil institutions are undermined and poverty proliferates. Breaking this nexus between poverty and conflict is one of the biggest challenges of the twenty-first century. The authors of this compelling book—some of the most experienced practitioners from around the world—investigate the complex and dynamic relationship between poverty and insecurity, exploring possible agents for change. They bring the latest lessons and intellectual framework to bear in an examination of African leadership, the private sector, and American foreign aid as vehicles for improving economic conditions and security. Contributors include Colin Kahl (University of Minnesota),Vinca LaFleur (Vinca LaFleur Communications), Edward Miguel (University of California, Berkeley), Jane Nelson (Harvard University and Brookings), Anthony Nyong (University of Jos and the International Development Research Centre, Nairobi), Susan Rice (Brookings), Robert Rotberg (Harvard University and the World Peace Foundation), Marc Sommers (Tufts University), Hendrik Urdal (International Peace Research Institute), and Jennifer Windsor (Freedom House).

Author : Graham K. Brown,Arnim Langer
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
Page : 609 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2012-01-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781781006313

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Elgar Handbook of Civil War and Fragile States by Graham K. Brown,Arnim Langer Pdf

ÔThe Elgar Handbook of Civil War and Fragile States is an impressive volume. Its distinguished contributors offer a rich menu of courses, ranging from conflict and war to peacemaking, transitional justice, peacekeeping, and powersharing. Encyclopedic in its scope, the volume encompasses many different approaches to stimulate and provoke the careful reader. It serves up a feast for scholars and policymakers alike.Õ Ð Donald L. Horowitz, Duke University, US The Elgar Handbook of Civil War and Fragile States brings together contributions from a multidisciplinary group of internationally renowned scholars on such important issues as the causes of violent conflicts and state fragility, the challenges of conflict resolution and mediation, and the obstacles to post-conflict reconstruction and durable peace-building. While other companion volumes exist, this detailed and comprehensive book brings together an unrivalled range of disciplinary perspectives, including development economists, quantitative and qualitative political scientists, and sociologists. Topical chapters include; Post-Conflict and State Fragility, Ethnicity, Human Security, Poverty and Conflict, Economic Dimensions of Civil War, Climate Change and Armed Conflict, Rebel Recruitment, Education and Violent Conflict, Obstacles to Peace Settlements and many others. With detailed and comprehensive coverage, this Handbook will appeal to postgraduate and undergraduate students, policymakers, researchers and academics in conflict and peace studies, international relations, international politics and security studies.

Author : Muserref Yetim
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2016-06-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780857727503

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Negotiating International Water Rights by Muserref Yetim Pdf

Transboundary watercourses account for an estimated 60 per cent of global freshwater flow and support the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Yet the indeterminate status of water rights in many international watercourses presents a problem and many attempts to resolve water rights issue have failed. Knowing how and where negotiations fail is essential if successful resolution is to be achieved. Muserref Yetim's important book seeks to illustrate a means to the peaceful resolution of natural resource based conflicts. Through a detailed study of the Tigris-Euphrates water conflict, involving Turkey, Syria and Iraq, countries of vital security interest to the world at large, the author clarifies the collective action dilemmas confronting Middle Eastern watercourses and reveals the bargaining bottlenecks where negotiations fail. She develops an original framework that explains bargaining failures and proposes conditions for creating a new property rights regime among watercourse states that offers a route to governing their shared water resources in ways that are politically, economically and environmentally sound. In almost all water scarce regions, international water resources are subject to intense unilateral exploitation in a highly competitive fashion. And as demand for freshwater continues to increase, through increasing urbanization and the continuing development of societies, so the issue of how such shared water resources can best be governed is becoming vitally important. Negotiating International Water Rights offers both a timely contribution to a matter of international concern and important insights into resource conflict in countries of vital security interest to the world at large.

Author : Richard Paul Cincotta,Robert Engelman,Daniele Anastasion
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 112 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Social Science
ISBN : UOM:39015064108270

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The Security Demographic by Richard Paul Cincotta,Robert Engelman,Daniele Anastasion Pdf

Do the dynamics of human population-rates of growth, age structure, distribution and more-influence when and where warfare will next break out? The findings of this report suggest that the risks of civil conflict (deadly violence between governments and non-state insurgents, or between state factions within territorial boundaries) that are generated by demographic factors may be much more significant than generally recognized, and worthy of more serious consideration by national security policy makers and researchers. Its conclusions-drawn from a review of literature and analyses of data from 180 countries, about half of which experienced civil conflict at some time from 1970 through 2000-argue that: Recent progress along the demographic transition-a population's shift from high to low rates of birth and death is associated with continuous declines in the vulnerability of nation-states to civil conflict. If this association continues through the 21st century, then a range of policies promoting small, healthy and better educated families and long lives among populations in developing countries seems likely to encourage greater political stability in weak states and to enhance global security in the future.

Author : Dr Kenneth Omeje
Publisher : Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2013-03-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781409498803

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Extractive Economies and Conflicts in the Global South by Dr Kenneth Omeje Pdf

The majority of developing countries in the Global South are evidently rich in natural resources, but paradoxically blighted by excruciating poverty and conflicts. This paradox of deprivation and war in the midst of plenteous resources has been the subject of great debate in international political economy in contemporary history. This book contributes to the debate by examining the underlying structures, actors and contexts of rentier politics and how they often produce and aggravate conflicts in the various extractive economies and regions of the Global South. The book critically explores the theories of rentier economies and natural resource conflicts, as well as the practical ramifications of rentier politics in the Global South with all their resonance for political economy and security in the Global North.

Author : Edward Newman,Karl DeRouen, Jr.
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 407 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2014-02-18
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781136255786

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Routledge Handbook of Civil Wars by Edward Newman,Karl DeRouen, Jr. Pdf

This comprehensive new Handbook explores the significance and nature of armed intrastate conflict and civil war in the modern world. Civil wars and intrastate conflict represent the principal form of organised violence since the end of World War II, and certainly in the contemporary era. These conflicts have a huge impact and drive major political change within the societies in which they occur, as well as on an international scale. The global importance of recent intrastate and regional conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Nepal, Cote d'Ivoire, Syria and Libya – amongst others – has served to refocus academic and policy interest upon civil war. Drawing together contributions from key thinkers in the field who discuss the sources, causes, duration, nature and recurrence of civil wars, as well as their political meaning and international impact, the Handbook is organised into five key parts: Part I: Understanding and Explaining Civil Wars: Theoretical and Methodological Debates Part II: The Causes of Civil Wars Part III: The Nature and Impact of Civil Wars Part IV: International Dimensions Part V: Termination and Resolution of Civil Wars Covering a wide range of topics including micro-level issues as well as broader debates, Routledge Handbook of Civil Wars will set a benchmark for future research in the field. This volume will be of much interest to students of civil wars and intrastate conflict, ethnic conflict, political violence, peace and conflict studies, security studies and IR in general.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Armed Forces
ISBN : UCSD:31822032768061

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Environmental Change and Security Project Report by Anonim Pdf

Author : Judith M. Bretthauer
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2016-08-25
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781317282969

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Climate Change and Resource Conflict by Judith M. Bretthauer Pdf

This book examines the links between climate change and resource scarcity to violent conflict. Does climate change cause conflicts? This book analyses the economic, political and social conditions under which countries with low levels of freshwater or arable land experience armed conflict. There are strong theoretic arguments linking climate change and scarcity of livelihood resources to conflict. However, empirical accounts are contradictory. Using qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this book compares 22 political, economic and social conditions across 30 countries experiencing scarcity of available freshwater or arable land. The results show that there are three types of resource-scarce countries that experience conflicts: (neo)patrimonial states, oil-rich states that are poorly integrated into the global economy and least developed states. In addition, the results reveal that there are two types of resource scarce countries that remain peaceful: non-agrarian countries with either even development between groups or high integration into the global economy with high levels of adaptive capacities. This explains the contradictory results of previous empirical studies and suggests that resource scarcity might contribute to conflict in least developed countries. This book will be of much interest to students of climate change, critical security, peace and conflict studies, and IR in general.

Author : Thomas David Mason,Sara McLaughlin Mitchell
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 423 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2023
Category : Civil war
ISBN : 9781538169179

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What Do We Know about Civil Wars? by Thomas David Mason,Sara McLaughlin Mitchell Pdf

Civil wars remain the most frequent and deadly form of organized armed conflict in the world. What Do We Know about Civil Wars? enlists leading scholars to guide students through cutting-edge research on civil war onset, duration, and outcomes, as well as the recurrence and consequences of civil wars to better understand global security.

Author : Jürgen Scheffran,Michael Brzoska,Hans Günter Brauch,Peter Michael Link,Janpeter Schilling
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 873 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2012-05-26
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642286261

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Climate Change, Human Security and Violent Conflict by Jürgen Scheffran,Michael Brzoska,Hans Günter Brauch,Peter Michael Link,Janpeter Schilling Pdf

Severe droughts, damaging floods and mass migration: Climate change is becoming a focal point for security and conflict research and a challenge for the world’s governance structures. But how severe are the security risks and conflict potentials of climate change? Could global warming trigger a sequence of events leading to economic decline, social unrest and political instability? What are the causal relationships between resource scarcity and violent conflict? This book brings together international experts to explore these questions using in-depth case studies from around the world. Furthermore, the authors discuss strategies, institutions and cooperative approaches to stabilize the climate-society interaction.

Author : Rita Floyd,Richard Matthew
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2013-01-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781136266744

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Environmental Security by Rita Floyd,Richard Matthew Pdf

Economic development, population growth and poor resource management have combined to alter the planet’s natural environment in dramatic and alarming ways. For over twenty years, considerable research and debate have focused on clarifying or disputing linkages between various forms of environmental change and various understandings of security. At one extreme lie sceptics who contend that the linkages are weak or even non-existent; they are simply attempts to harness the resources of the security arena to an environmental agenda. At the other extreme lie those who believe that these linkages may be the most important drivers of security in the 21st century; indeed, the very future of humankind may be at stake. This book brings together contributions from a range of disciplines to present a critical and comprehensive overview of the research and debate linking environmental factors to security. It provides a framework for representing and understanding key areas of intellectual convergence and disagreement, clarifying achievements of the research as well as identifying its weaknesses and gaps. Part I explores the various ways environmental change and security have been linked, and provides principal critiques of this linkage. Part II explores the linkage through analysis of key issue areas such as climate change, energy, water, food, population, and development. Finally, the book concludes with a discussion of the value of this subfield of security studies, and with some ideas about the questions it might profitably address in the future. This volume is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of the field. With contributions from around the world, it combines established and emerging scholars to offer a platform for the next wave of research and policy activity. It is invaluable for both students and practitioners interested in international relations, environment studies and human geography.

Author : Md Rafiqul Islam
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 171 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2023-08-18
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781000931792

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Climate Change, Migration and Conflict in Bangladesh by Md Rafiqul Islam Pdf

This book explores the relationship between climate change–induced migration and conflict in Bangladesh – one of the most ecologically fragile countries in the world. It explores why people migrate from their original place of land and how the migration of people with a different background to an ethnically distinctive region due to environmental changes can become a source of conflict and violence between the host peoples and migrants. The volume focuses on the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), which has experienced long-standing ethnopolitical conflict due to the settlement and migration of the Bengali people from the plain land of Bangladesh. This settlement and migration were mainly caused climatic events such as floods, cyclones, sealevel rise, and disasters. It traces the history of the ethnic conflict in the region and presents key findings from the field, as well as the dynamics of everyday politics in the region. This volume also highlights how internally climate-displaced people generate violence and civil strife in the major urban cities through their settlements in slums. The volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of environmental studies, human geography, migration and diaspora studies, public policy, social anthropology, and South Asian studies.