An overview of the roots of civil wars: natural factors and economic conditions

Mathieu Couttenier (1, 2) , Raphael Soubeyran (3)

1 UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
2 HEC Lausanne - Faculté des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC Lausanne)
3 LAMETA - Laboratoire Montpelliérain d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée

We provide an overview of the roots of civil conflict. We distinguish between economic conditions and natural factors as two broad categories of roots identified in the empirical literature. As a preamble, we present an overview of the theoretical literature on the roots of civil war and distinguish between “capacity-related” and “opportunity-related” causes of conflict. We also provide policy implications regarding the prevention of civil conflicts.

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Mathieu Couttenier, Raphael Soubeyran. An overview of the roots of civil wars: natural factors and economic conditions. 2013. ⟨hal-02805935⟩