Understanding Conflict Trends: A Review of the Social Science Literature on the Causes of Conflict
Abstract
The recent spike in violence in places like Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen notwithstanding, the number of conflicts worldwide has fallen since the end of the Cold War, and few of those that remain are clashes between states. Most contemporary conflicts are insurgencies and civil wars. A growing consensus holds that the traditional causes of state-on-state conflicts have become less relevant as seizing territory for ideological or power reasons has become less attractive, and shifts in international norms and rapid availability of information have made coercive control of populations less tenable. Whether these trends represent temporary phenomena or a permanent change remains an open question. Speculation that such forces as globalization, resource scarcity, or climate change will fuel new conflicts is largely unsupported by evidence.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1085074
Entities
People
- Angela O'Mahony
- Bryan A. Frederick
- Jennifer Kavanagh
- Phoenix Voorhies
- Stephen Watts
- Thomas S. Szayna
- Tova C. Norlen
Organizations
- RAND Corporation