Climate, Violence and Development

Question 1

important issue of water scarcity

Answer 1

if temperatures rise and droughts become more common, increasing violence from resource scarcity could be a big problem

Question 2

case of Lake Chad

Answer 2

once the world’s 6th largest lake (50-60 years ago) but is drying up
- currently at only 10-20% of its former size

desertification, plus damming of rivers for hydroelectricity in the 60s/70s are both to blame

Question 3

broader political violence

Answer 3

civil wars are widespread in less developed countries

Question 4

civil conflict statistics

Answer 4

more than 1/2 of the countries around the world have experienced a civil conflict (>25 battle deaths annually) since 1960

1/3 of countries have had a least a year of civil war (>1000 battle deaths)

in the mid-1990s, 1/3 of SSA countries had active conflicts/wars in any given year

since 1980, over 80% of African countries have had at least one conflict year

civil conflict is not the exception but the rule

Question 5

conflict contagion

Answer 5

conflict landscape is a mixed bag
- many wars ended since 2000, other potential conflicts defused

Africa’s largest country (DRC) still in conflict and its war has and could jump borders

still a lot of civil conflict
- last few decades have seen steady economic growth but this growth has not eliminated violence

Question 6

relationship between wealth and incidence of civil conflict

Answer 6

countries with higher income and faster recent economic growth are less prone to civil war

robust strong relationship: rich countries do not have a lot of civil war while poor countries do