War and Poverty

THE 2004 YEARBOOK OF the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported that 377 major armed conflicts occurred worldwide in the years from 1990 through 2003. The average number of conflicts during this 14-year period was 27 per year. The number of conflicts reached a high point in 1991 at 33 and the low point occurred in 1997 at 18. Of the major armed conflicts that occurred in 2003, only two were fought between states, the war in Iraq and the ongoing struggle between India and Pakistan over control of Kashmir. The remaining conflicts in 2003 were intra-state or so-called civil wars.

Since the end of the Cold War, the intrastate conflict has clearly been the most prominent and in many ways the most difficult to resolve. Long-standing conflict has defied solution in Colombia and Israel for years. However, there has been some progress made in ending intrastate wars. In 2003, the peaceful end to conflict was reached in Liberia and Sudan. The most significant factor in these resolutions has been the concerted efforts of other countries and international organizations providing mediation to end the conflict and support of all types to ensure the rebuilding of infrastructure and the alleviation of poverty.

Intrastate wars are of primary concern to virtually all organizations devoted to socioeconomic development. The World Bank, for instance, considers civil war to be development in reverse and a significant part of the enormous global poverty problem. There in an inextricable connection between major armed conflict and the advance of poverty in all its forms. War impacts the civilian population within a country far more than it does the initiators. It is true as well that socioeconomic development, if it is allowed to happen and if it is sustained, can act as a preventative to war. A recent World Bank research report concluded that “Civil war … reflects not just a problem for development, but a failure of development.”

A number of proposals have been made in recent years directed at finding ways to alleviate poverty and, as a consequence, to curtail the incidence of debilitating civil war. In the economic area, proposals have been made to eliminate the high debt that developing countries owe to their affluent urban-industrialized counterparts. In many cases, the amounts owed far exceed the ability of the poor country to perhaps ever make repayment. In addition, international terms of trade work against poor countries and they are not able to compete on the world market and find consumers for their products. Increases in monetary support have also been proposed if significant progress is to be made in alleviating poverty and rebuilding countries that have experienced civil war and the ravages of environmental degradation.

It is clear that the degree of redevelopment needed to bring these countries up to a self-sustaining level is far beyond their capability. A June 2000 article by Professor C.G. Jacobsen in The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution makes this conclusion evident: “The poorer countries (average per capita income of $400) clearly do not have the means to fund the programs required. The rich countries (average per capita income of $24,000) clearly do not have the will.” The last point about will is well taken.

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