Publication: Does the Middle East and North Africa Region Experience 'Conflict Traps'?
Date
2011-04
ISSN
Published
2011-04
Author(s)
Lind, Lene
Zyck, Steven A.
Abstract
The 2011 World Development Report (WDR)
on 'Conflict, Security and Development' has
reaffirmed global research that conflict is in many respects
a self-perpetuating cycle. Put simply, factors related to
the onset of conflict are reinforced by ensuing violence
trapping countries in a cycle which is hard to break, with
ominous implications for development assistance. The best
known exposition of the conflict trap is based on economic
factors. Collier et al. wrote in 2003 that a 'country
that first falls into the trap may have a risk of new war
that is 10 times higher just after that war has ended than
before the war started. If the country succeeds in
maintaining post-conflict peace for ten years or so, the
risk is considerably reduced, but remains at a higher level
than before the conflict'. According to this 2003
study, war not only erodes and complicates economic
conditions, it also allows particular groups to accumulate
wealth and, hence, gain a financial stake in continued or
renewed violence. As the 2011 WDR itself suggests, some of
the most integral drivers of conflict and fragility may
relate to institutions and the quality of governance.
Citation
“Lind, Lene; Zyck, Steven A.. 2011. Does the Middle East and North Africa Region Experience 'Conflict Traps'?. MNA Knowledge and Learning Fast Brief; No. 85. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/76ae434f-1ac5-5366-96c6-38bd388a3ec9 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”