civil conflict
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2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonah M Rexer

Abstract Marriage markets in rural Nigeria are characterised by bride price and polygamy. These customs may diminish marriage prospects for young men, causing them to join militant groups. Using an instrumental variables strategy, I find that marriage inequality increases civil conflict in the Boko Haram insurgency. To generate exogenous shocks to the marriage market, I exploit the fact that young women delay marriage in response to favourable pre-marital economic conditions, which increases marriage inequality primarily in polygamous villages. The same shocks that increase marriage inequality and extremist violence also lead women to marry fewer and richer husbands, generate higher average marriage expenditures, and increase insurgent abductions. The results shed light on the marriage market as an important driver of violent extremism.


Author(s):  
Dmitry Kosourov ◽  

ntroduction. The article considers the data of the Will of the Byzantine nobleman Eustathios Boilas about his possessions in the Byzantine theme Iberia and Great Armenia in the context of political relations between Byzantium and the Georgian Kingdom in the 1040s and 1050s. Methods. The comparison of the texts of different written traditions is carried out. The data of the Will of Eustathios Boilas is analyzed in the context of “Chronicle of Kartli” from the corpus of the Kartlis Tskhovreba and the other sources. Analysis. The comparison of information from all the texts indicates that Boilas’ possessions even reached beyond the theme of Iberia, in particular, to the Northern Tao and part of Klarjeti. From the late 30s of the 11th century this territory became the arena of a cruel Georgian civil conflict between the Georgian king Bagrat IV and the Byzantium ally, the Duke of Kldekari Liparit IV Baghuashi. The defeat of Liparit in this conflict between 1053 and 1057 forced Byzantium to abandon its new acquisitions in Northern Tao, as a result of which, among other things, Eustathios Boilas lost several of his lands, which were transferred to Bagrat IV and his allies. Results. As the study shows, the borders of the theme Iberia and Great Armenia in the period from 1047 to 1053/1057 expanded to the north, including the territory of the Northern Tao and possibly part of Klarjeti, which was ruled by the Byzantine ally Liparit. The combination of data from both Byzantine and Georgian texts assumes to revise the generally accepted point of view about the administrative boundaries of the Iberia and Great Armenia theme.


Author(s):  
Olena Gorenko

The article introduces a phenomenological approach to the analysis of A. Bierce’s story «An occurrence at Owl creek bridge». The category of routine is studied within the frames of Husserl’s interpretation of transcendental inter-subjectivity according to which «realized experience» is presented on two levels. The first is connected with a single flood of consciousness, and, to be more precise,with a possible perception of a single ego-subject. In the story it is Peyton Farquhar. The second represents the constructed unity of a higher level and is a multitude of subjects which are in a state of agreement and mutual understanding. These are soldiers and officers of the Unionist Army, who are involved into the procedure of a hanging which acquires the status of a ritualized routine, daily occurrence. Bierce’s approach to routinization of death is explicitly ironic. Irony is applied on both stylistic and linguistic levels. On linguistic level it is used as traditional incompatibility between what is said and what is meant. On stylistic one– it accentuates the contrast between textual reality and its possible perception by reading audience. This contrast is also revealed through the opposition of two temporal layers – physical and psychological. The first has system forming narrative function, and the latter – system differentiating one. These two levels have a cross-section – internal existential perception of time and space by the person condemned to the execution and his temporal victory over death. At the same time the narrative mechanism of probing deep into the main character’s state of mind is being analysed. This mechanism helps the writer to express implicitly his real attitude to this «occurrence», which reflected paradoxality of civil conflict. On the one hand, it is an attempt to routinize the execution of enemies, on the other, – futile desire to return to the routine.


Games ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Atin Basuchoudhary

Empirical investigation suggests that conflict is path-dependent, i.e., current conflict leads to more conflict in the future. However, there is very little formal theory for why conflict path dependence exists. We propose a mathematical model to explore one possible pathway to explain the persistence of conflict once it starts. In this model, there are three types of cultures in two boundedly rational populations. The two populations are State Actors and Insurgents. The three cultures are Peaceable, Warring, or Bargainers. The distribution of these types is different in each population. Evolutionary dynamics determine which of these three cultures might predominate. Our simulations suggest that it is rational for people to learn to be warlike even in environments where State Actors are willing to give large side payments to “buy” peace to avoid bargaining failure. War can also be learned when State Actors and Insurgents are extremely patient and, therefore, potentially committed to Pareto improving peace deals. The outcomes of these simulations suggest that cultural learning can be a hitherto ignored explanation for why conflict is path dependent. If culture is indeed a possible cause for conflict, the best intentions of technocratic peacemakers trying to build frameworks for resource sharing and/or institutional building may fail, simply because such structures are not suited to local conditions. On the flip side, our model also provides theoretical reasoning for the observation that conflict is not a deterministic outcome of bargaining and commitment failures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Steinbrook ◽  
Myo Chit Min ◽  
Ladda Kajeechiwa ◽  
Jacher Wiladphaingern ◽  
Moo Kho Paw ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Antenatal care and skilled childbirth services are important interventions to improve maternal health and lower the risk of poor pregnancy outcomes and mortality. A growing body of literature has shown that geographic distance to clinics can be a disincentive towards seeking care during pregnancy. On the Thailand-Myanmar border antenatal clinics serving migrant populations have found high rates of loss to follow-up of 17.4%, but decades of civil conflict have made the underlying factors difficult to investigate. Here we perform a comprehensive study examining the geographic, demographic, and health-related factors contributing to loss to follow-up. Methods Using patient records we conducted a spatial and epidemiological analysis looking for predictors of loss to follow-up and pregnancy outcomes between 2007 and 2015. We used multivariable negative binomial regressions to assess for associations between distance travelled to the clinic and birth outcomes (loss to follow-up, pregnancy complications, and time of first presentation for antenatal care.) Results We found distance travelled to clinic strongly predicts loss to follow-up, miscarriage, malaria infections in pregnancy, and presentation for antenatal care after the first trimester. People lost to follow-up travelled 50% farther than people who had a normal singleton childbirth (a ratio of distances (DR) 1.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4 – 1.5). People with pregnancies complicated by miscarriage travelled 20% farther than those who did not have miscarriages (DR: 1.2; CI 1.1–1.3), and those with Plasmodium falciparum malaria in pregnancy travelled 60% farther than those without P. falciparum (DR: 1.6; CI: 1.6 – 1.8). People who delayed antenatal care until the third trimester travelled 50% farther compared to people who attended in the first trimester (DR: 1.5; CI: 1.4 – 1.5). Conclusions This analysis provides the first evidence of the complex impact of geography on access to antenatal services and pregnancy outcomes in the rural, remote, and politically complex Thailand-Myanmar border region. These findings can be used to help guide evidence-based interventions to increase uptake of maternal healthcare both in the Thailand-Myanmar region and in other rural, remote, and politically complicated environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 575
Author(s):  
Rabah Arezki ◽  
Markus Brueckner

Military expenditures significantly affect the relationship between the risk of civil conflict outbreak and natural resources. We show that a significant positive effect of natural resource rents on the risk of civil conflict outbreak is limited to countries with low military expenditures. In countries with high military expenditures, there is no significant effect of natural resource rents on civil conflict onset. An important message is thus that a conflict resource curse is absent in countries with sufficiently large military expenditures.


Oryx ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Emily Neil ◽  
Elizabeth Greengrass

Abstract The Babile Elephant Sanctuary in Ethiopia was established in 1970 specifically to protect its elephants Loxodonta africana. They were once part of a larger population that ranged in eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia but that was largely extirpated during the 20th century. Since its establishment, the Sanctuary has experienced severe anthropogenic pressure, inadequate government support, and civil conflict. Mapping was undertaken to analyse the rate of human immigration into the Sanctuary in 2006, 2014 and 2017, as part of an assessment of the Sanctuary's effectiveness in protecting its resident elephant population and in mitigating anthropogenic pressures. From 2006 to 2017 the number of illegal houses in the Sanctuary increased from 18,000 to > 50,000, of which > 32,000 were in the area in which elephants range. This settlement, coupled with high demand for natural resources, has resulted in significant habitat destruction and could also have exacerbated human–elephant conflict. Elephant conservation and monitoring by the Born Free Foundation were challenging because of ethnic conflict; rural and political stability is required if efforts to protect wildlife are to be successful. Unless these issues are resolved and the integrity of the Sanctuary is restored, this elephant population will be extirpated in the near future.


2021 ◽  
pp. 073889422110484
Author(s):  
Chelsea Estancona ◽  
Lindsay Reid

Why do governments choose to fund pro-government militias (PGMs) if doing so could extend costly civil conflict? While PGMs are active in a majority of civil wars, their impact on conflict termination remains poorly understood. We argue that the choice to fund PGMs is a strategic one for states and part of their efforts to influence wartime dynamics and conflict termination. We hypothesize that PGMs’ impact on conflict termination is conditional on whether they are government funded. Government-funded PGMs help states to ward off costly negotiations and encourage the rebellion's gradual dissolution. Using competing risks analyses on civil wars ending between 1981 and 2007, we find robust evidence that PGM funding affects conflict outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alexander Slocombe

<p>Understanding national identity through foreign policy provides a strong means of ascertaining the prevailing social constructions within a great power nation state. There is a growing need to understand the national identities of Russia and China without pre-theorising or depending on asymmetric comparative studies with regional states. China and Russia are frequently compared to their regional neighbours which undermines understanding their unique identities. There are also frequent misunderstandings of contemporary Chinese and Russian national motives, often likening the modern Russian state to the Soviet Union, or attempting to understand China as a challenger to US unipolarity. Both great powers exhibit common characteristics of authoritarianism, both have recently endured massive social and national changes, and both have global interests that manifest in the Middle East such as securing vital geostrategic resources, both states are conscious of their native Muslim populations and to be recognised as a great power identity both must demonstrate influence in the Middle East. Yet, there have been significant differences in agendas and outcomes of their foreign policy decisions. This thesis seeks to use a constructivist framework to discern Russian and Chinese identity through comparison of their respective foreign policy. Contrary to “neo-realist” and “neo-liberal” arguments that accept state interests as rational, determined by the international system, and not determined by identity, this thesis seeks not to pre-theorise but to identify how their respective actions towards three key case studies in the Middle East; the Syrian Civil Conflict, the Iranian Nuclear Framework, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, indicate their prevailing social constructions. This thesis compares Russian and Chinese attitudes and actions towards these cases. Despite their similar disposition and principles towards international relations these two nations had significant points of difference. Drawing upon foreign policy analysis and a comparative model this thesis finds that despite the commonalities between the Russian and Chinese nations, Russian identity as great power, unique Eurasian power, and an alternative to the West, ensures a defiance of its relatively weak economic position to engage in positions of leadership in the Middle East, whilst China’s identity constructions that are common with Russia, its great power, civilisational, and alternative to the West constructions manifest despite an increasingly influential and material position in the world order, has provided little incentive to engage in meaningful ways throughout the Middle East’s recent conflicts.</p>


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