Is poverty a cause of international Conflicts
Chapter 1
Introduction
Socioeconomic instability is a global issue these days and this is a vicious circle responsible for much unrest in the world. This causes more unrest on the civil level as well as on an international level. Risks of facing greater financial instability increases thus creating chances of more conflicts in the future. In this paper, the relationship between conflict, finances and poverty shall be analyzed. The hypothesis that is to be explored in this paper is that the conflicts and poverty are increased because of financial factors. That fact that needs emphasis here is that war is a form of an international conflict thereby the risks of war are increased and are positively associated with the financial factors as financial instability and poverty. Financial resources are utilized during war and these can exacerbate poverty leading to increased conflicts in the future (Ohlsson, 2000, p. 67).
A range of queries need emphasis when the effect of poverty on international conflict is taken into consideration. There is an effect of military expenses on financial developments within countries and on a global scale, as it needs to be explored. Do military expansions and military expenses have any roles in increasing in poverty and does this poverty cause an increase in the conflicts on national and an international level by creating incentives to ensure stronger military presence in the region. Previous studies have suggested that in the 1990s, the least developed nations faced many conflicts, as domestic, socioeconomic issues were critical (Adnan, 2004, p. 56).
The problems of conflicts are faced by the poorest countries the most and it is observed that the military expansion plays a key role in poorest countries. There is a need to distinguish between the effects of military expansions during peace and war times internationally. It is studied that powerful countries having well developed and organized institutions can have positive impacts on the countries having less developed institutions (Spoor, 2004, p. 67).
Chapter 2
Literature review
There is a strong interrelationship between poverty and conflicts. It is argued by many international scholars and politicians that there can be no security if there is no development. On the other hand, there is no development without any security. In this paper the main emphasis is that the poverty can cause many conflicts and being specific, the kind of conflict that is taken into consideration is war. Nevertheless there are two sides of every argument. There are many political arguments that also believe that conflicts, especially war can be the cause of poverty as well. In this case, thereby both sides shall be discussed.
Poverty causes Conflicts
It can be argued here that if severe financial instabilities are a cause of international conflicts including wars and mass atrocities, than there are a billion people living around the world on one dollar a day and they can be more violent than can be imagined (Do, , Ton, Iyer, and World Bank Development Research Group Poverty Team, 2007, p. 23).
On the other hand, it is suggested that there is no connection between poverty and the international conflicts. This cannot be considered as a plausible suggestion. It is discussed that there is every reason to believe that economic and financial instabilities in countries with higher unemployment rates and lower incomes contribute in conditions that increase grievances within the disadvantaged and disenfranchised groups by decreasing opportunity costs for a violent rebellion.
War is a kind of conflict that is known to have its roots lying in poverty. Within the countries and globally, political, social and economic inequalities cause wars. Militant groups and individuals are drawn to fight against these inequalities thereby casing civil and later on, international wars and many other related conflicts (Crocker, Hampson, Osler, and Aall, 2007, p. 67).
It is argued that poverty is discussed in relation to the losses of livelihood and these may be the causes of the current patterns of conflicts on an international scale. In certain societies, poverty is rather an endemic condition thereby higher poverty or a loss of livelihood can mark the previously stable condition of a welfare society into an unstable one thus heightening the condition of poverty or destitution. Rapid changes in the societies are involved that cause poverty that cause serious forms of conflicts (Banerjee, Bnabou, and Mookherjee, 2006, p. 58).
Poverty causes a loss in the livelihood s of the people making them homeless in certain cases. One of the greatest examples is the militias around the world that hire younger men who were destitute and have lost their livelihoods. These young men as a result of the poverty are forced to accept the much low situations in which they are not allowed by their previous cultures.
Afghanistan case study in poverty as a cause of conflicts
It is evident that Afghanistan is one of those countries that are engaged in war, both on an international and a civil level. It is mentioned in the report released by international aid agency Oxfam that around 70 Afghani citizens believe that the current situation of the country is because of poverty. Rest of the Afghanis blames the weaknesses and higher corruption levels in the governments as a cause of the civil and international conflicts (Spoor, 2004, p. 28).
A joint report is released by Oxfam that has mentioned thirty years of continuous conflict in the country in the light of unemployment, rising poverty, increasing corruption at government level as well as the activities of Taliban. A survey was conducted by the Oxfam team in Afghanistan in which 704 Afghanis participated and the facts revealed that there are around 16th of the Afghanis willing to leave the country since the year of 1979, one in five afghan citizens has faced tortures and around 30 of the Afghan citizens are forced to leave there homes since the war began in the country.
It is argued that the situation in Afghanistan is devastating and the solutions are needed that can heal the current situation in country. Higher authorities in USA say that the country needs stability in its economic, educational and political terms so that the destitution and the war comes to an end.
From Afghanistan to international countries
Military solutions that are imposed on Afghanistan from the international countries are not the end, but they are just the start of more conflicts. It is argued that the poverty has caused the formation of many militant groups in Afghanistan and these militant groups are now spread globally. It is a fact that the weaponry and there distribution is a common factor in this poverty struck country and almost every citizen is involved in war in an indirect manner (Ohlsson, 2000, p. 67).
HDI of Afghanistan is the lowest as compared to the other countries showing that the country is going through destitute periods now. Education levels in the country is extremely low with no schools as they are bombed down by international militia groups or civil war or the extremist religious groups that do not allow education to be a part of the lives of poor citizens. Agricultural sector is ignored and this faces ruins in the country. In the past, only export that used to earn Afghanistan some money were the poppy fields but they are illegal in many ways and now Afghani citizens are only engaged in international and civil conflicts (Adnan, 2004, p. 50).
Figure 1 Internally displaced person statistics in Afghanistan
Because of poverty, the conflicts that are caused have caused many people to lose their homes and people have fled their countries.
War is the main issue in Afghanistan as there is no infrastructure in the country and there is no hold of the governments. Militia groups are now spread around the world playing the roles of terrorists thereby causing more unrest in the world. International communities have military based solutions for these militias that are thought to arise from Afghanistan thus there is a continuous war going on between Afghanistan and international countries for peace and security.
Conflicts cause poverty
The other side of argument is that the conflicts cause poverty and these conflicts include war. It is argued that the profits may be generated from wars but there are many disadvantages that are faced after wars. Wars are related to the functions that are played by the military institutions. Military institutions are involved in two kinds of activities, peacetime activities and wartime activities.
Developmental roles that are played by military institutions include an increase in the government revenues by working on infrastructure of the country as education and health (Banerjee, Bnabou, and Mookherjee, 2006, p. 67). During wars, it is seen that ratio of military expenditures to GDP rises in a sharper manner. There is a need to maintain the military expenditures in a higher manner thereby the natural and financial resources are utilized as compared to social development that causes stagnation in the development of many countries. It is estimated that the civil wars are a cause of reduction continued for a period of seven years than it takes a country 15 years back, in relation to the development in financial and educational sectors and rebuilding of an infrastructure. A report published by the World Bank mentions that the country undergoing war needs an additional 12 years to regain the pre war period per capita income (Adnan, 2004, p. 78).
A feedback loop occurs here that can be referred to as the conflict trap. This conflict trap is discussed in relation to the countries that face lower per capita incomes and lower GPDPs. These are the countries in which the prolonged violence can aggravate the conditions with lower incomes and unstable financial institutions creating more chances of increased violence in the future thereby a dramatic action is needed by these countries in order to break the vicious cycle of prolonged violence (Spoor, 2004, p. 67). Wars are the instruments that can damage critical infrastructure of a country and can be damage to the trust and visions that the foreign investors have in a country. Money that is saved for the development of the capital and infrastructure of the country is driven to define the needs of the military expenditures thereby the needs of citizens are ignored. Individual are driven away from their homes. Diseases thrive in the vulnerable populations along with the military personnel. Thereby the countries that suffer from the marginally developed economies are the ones that face setbacks when they undergo the conflicts as wars and civil wars. Thereby in this case there are two main arguments that are presented, one is that poverty has a role to play in the creation of conflicts on a global scale and conflicts can also cause increased poverty specifically in the case of wars (Crocker, Hampson, and Aall, 2007, p. 90).
Africa an example of conflicts causing poverty
Religious diversity and the ethnicities are not the reasons of the civil wars in Africa since many years. The research shows that the civil war in Africa is because of the increased levels of poverty. In addition, political instituions in Africa have failed disastrously having no authorities on the militia groups in Africa as well as there is no economic development in the country because of these wars. It is seen that the country is divided based on the ethno linguistic fragmentation but it is concluded that the civil wars are a result of the conflict that are in turn consuming the resources of the country casing more poverty (Gberie, 2005, p. 23).
African countries are also the examples of the case in which the poverty is causing conflicts. The natural resources in the country is misused by the political leaders of the country and this has causes a detachement of the political leaders from the ordinary people leading to more corruption. Africa is a low-income country and there is higher competition among the politicians to achieve a control over the resources. This caused an imbalance in the functioning carried out by the state and by the African citizen in order to keep the country united (Spoor, 2004, p. 56).
Chapter 3
Methodology
In this case, various theories shall be taken into account that relate to the poverty and its effects on international conflicts. Liberalism, neo liberalism have played many roles in considering the relationship between poverty and the international conflicts. In this chapter roles that are played by the liberalism and realism in understanding the relationship shall be outlined.
Liberalism is a belief in the freedom of an individual. Many historians have considered the ideology and now this belief is one of the most valued ones in the world. Liberalism by many historians is defined as the toleration of the ideologies and beliefs that the other people might have thereby giving the people there rights of free speech and freedom to live according to the beliefs that a person or a society has. Democracy is another fact that is counted in liberalism. Democracy and peace are the two main facts that are emphasized in the liberalism by the historians (Rawls, 2005, p. 56).
It is argued that peace and democracy are the opposite sides of the same coin. In this case the argument that is presented relates the foreign policies of the governments and the way in which the government rule the countries. Once it was said by Ronald Reagan that the government that believe in an individual respect believe in peace of their own country and the other countries. The foreign policies that are designed by these governments keep in mind the freedom level of individuals in the other countries as well.
Poverty is the main issue between the states these days as Afghanistan because of which there are many violent conflicts that are arising frequently. In accordance to the liberalism, the conflicts are no solution to these issues. Instead, the liberal states should be looking at the issues from the grass root level rather than violently fighting off the militant groups that are a cause of poverty in these countries. Here the main fact that has to be emphasized is the difference in the ideologies that are held by the liberal states and the non-liberal states. Liberal states believe in peace and democracy whereas the non-liberal states are engaged in wars in order to resolve the conflicts.
Realism on the other hand is the most influential theory among the political scientists. The ideology that is followed by the practitioners of realism believe in justice that has to be done in all costs in the case of all international affairs. An implication of the moral concepts is emphasized. Power and security issues are emphasized in realism.
In relation to the conflicts it is highlighted by the theories of realism that the conflicts should arise only when there is a self interest involved for a country involved in a conflicts including war. Moral implications and the theory of just war has to be taken into account by the non liberal states in this case. An argument in this case is that the conflicts can consume the resources of a country thereby by no way the war is in the countrys self interest. War and conflicts by no way represent the scenario in which moral implications and justice is being preached. National interests for any state is building its economical infrastructure and we have seen that the conflicts consumes the savings of the nation (Morris, 2003, p. 90).
Chapter 4
Suggestions and future work
Two main cases are examined in the paper. One is case where poverty can be the cause of international conflicts and the country of Afghanistan is one example. The second example is where the conflicts can be the cause of poverty as civil wars in Africa and Sudan.
Conflicts in these countries are linked to poverty. In the first case the solutions to the poverty are to be found rather than fighting the consequences of poverty as the militia groups that themselves include men who have lost their homes due to poverty. Economical infrastructure has to be taken into consideration and policy implications are needed in these countries thereby eliminating poverty that can help in eliminating the militias spread on a civil and an international scale.
In the second case where conflicts cause poverty, as in Africa, the solution is in solving the conflicts that are causing more violence in the country thereby the resources that are used in war are utilized in building up the infrastructure of the country. The government and the political authorities in Africa are in need of a realization that the resources are about to end and there is a need to have a control on the civil bloodshed in the country. Recently it is reported that the global warming is tp increase the poverty in the country thereby fueling conflicts. Focus is needed to reduce poverty, building the infrastructure and help reduce the conflicts.
Conclusion
Poverty in any case is the cause of the fueled conflict in the world today. There is a need to address and review the policies including economic policies and the foreign policies that can help reduce conflicts on a civil and an international level. Initiating wars are no solutions to reduce the violence consequences of the poverty. Economic infrastructure is in a need to be stabilized thereby reducing poverty thus the conflicts.
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