War and Poverty Connection in Developing Countries Research Paper

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Introduction

For many years, poverty has been found to erupt in regions affected by war and vise versa. People from war torn regions have been found to languish in poverty with all their hopes lying in hands of well wishers (Hess, 2002, p. 12 ). It is from this experience that one poses a question on whether there is a connection between war and poverty. This paper aims at looking at the extent to which war and poverty are connected.

Connection between war and poverty

According to Abadie (2006, pp. 23-52), it has been identified that there is a strong relationship between poverty and war. Poverty in a specific society or country leads to weakening of the states security. For countries vulnerable to insurgents, poverty leads to such groups thriving. This is because law enforcing agency in such countries can not be able to effectively fund the machinery required to ensure that law and order is observed. Abadie posits that income par capita of any country acts as a determinant of its ability to manage its police, military and other administrative institutions. At times of poverty, everyone struggles to ensure that he or she gets his daily bread as well as providing for those depending on him. At such a time, one is determined to go an extra mile no matter what it costs to ensure that he achieves his objective. Consequently, people are found to violate the established rules in the name of trying to earn their living. Insecurity and war erupts during such times as people try to look for means of satisfying their needs.

Conversely, Collier and Hoeffler (2002, pp. 22-32), asserts that war leads to poverty. The scholars claim that conflict and war in most nations have been found to exacerbate the rate of poverty in the affected nations. In their arguments, they have come up with two reasons that clearly give the relationship between war and poverty. Whenever war erupts in the country, its normal operations are adversely affected. It becomes difficult for people in the affected areas to continue with their normal economic activities. It becomes hard for such people to provide for their families as well as for the government to provide basic social amenities. Slowed economic growth in the affected country or region eventually leads to the affected society ending up in poverty.

Another reason given by Collier and Hoeffler as they try to give the relationship between poverty and war is that war leads to all the public resources being used up in the attempt to bring to an end the war as well as saving the affected people. For instance, during the normalcy period, most countries spend limited resources on military preparedness. However, when war emerges, most of the resources are directed towards equipping the military with the necessary facilities. It becomes hard for the country to get enough resources to provide for all the required public amenities. Consequently, the public faces a deficiency in services offered by the state as most of its income is channeled to addressing matters to do with war.

A review of Journal of Conflict Resolution by Hess Gregory D

Hess uses data from 152 countries across the world to determine the relationship between war and poverty. When determining what leads to both internal and external conflicts within countries, recession was identified as one of the factors that trigger wars in different countries. This was reached upon by using Markov model of probability that explains the impacts of the switch from tranquility to war on state’s economy. It was identified that war and poverty are interdependent.

Conclusion

Poverty and war or conflict has been found to be closely interrelated with each leading to the other. Most of the developing countries that suffer from civil wars have been found to be incapacitated economic wise. On the other hand, countries with weak economies have occasionally suffered from conflict.

Reference List

Abadie, A. (2006). Poverty, Political Freedom, and the Roots of Terrorism, American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 2006.

Collier, P. & Hoeffler, A. (2002). On the Incidence of Civil War in Africa. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 46(1), pp. 22-32.

Hess, D. (2002). The Temporal Links Between Conflict and Economic Activity. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 46(1), p. 12.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2021, December 30). War and Poverty Connection in Developing Countries. https://ivypanda.com/essays/war-and-poverty-connection-in-developing-countries/

Work Cited

"War and Poverty Connection in Developing Countries." IvyPanda, 30 Dec. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/war-and-poverty-connection-in-developing-countries/.

References

IvyPanda. (2021) 'War and Poverty Connection in Developing Countries'. 30 December.

References

IvyPanda. 2021. "War and Poverty Connection in Developing Countries." December 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/war-and-poverty-connection-in-developing-countries/.

1. IvyPanda. "War and Poverty Connection in Developing Countries." December 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/war-and-poverty-connection-in-developing-countries/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "War and Poverty Connection in Developing Countries." December 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/war-and-poverty-connection-in-developing-countries/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1