New directions in conflict research from an economics perspective - Conflicts Over Natural Resources in the Global South - page 35

New directions in conflict research
from an economics perspective
Syed Mansoob Murshed 1
Abstract This chapter begins by looking at the causes of internal conflict in devel-
oping countries, reviewing the rational choice debate between greed and grievance
as a cause of conflict. It argues that these explanations may be complementary, and
the breakdown of the institutions behind conflict resolution, or the social contract,
may explain why large scale internal conflict breaks out. It looks at the relationship
between globalisation and conflict, bearing in mind that civil war is only one form of
violent organised internal conflict, and the fact that the relationship between economic
progress, and the risk of conflict may be non-linear, with both growth and the absence
of growth producing conflict risk. It then closely examines the relationship between
natural resource endowment and conflict risk, arguing that economic dependence on
certain types of resources and its associated weak institutions are more likely to pro-
duce conflict. The growing prevalence of sectarian and civilisational conflict is also
outlined, along with the argument for a need for studying conflict at a more local,
sub-national level of analysis.
Keywords Internal conflict, civil war, social contract, globalisation and conflict,
natural resources and conflict.
3.1 INTRODUCTION
Even an idealist philosopher like Immanuel Kant (1795) considered war to be the nat-
ural state of man. In that respect, he shared the perspective of the English philosopher
Thomas Hobbes (1651). According to Hobbes, the state of nature was characterised
by anarchy akin to perpetual war. Life was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short''
(Hobbes 1651: 84). Consequently, self-interest dictated that individuals should relin-
quish their personal freedom to an absolute ruler who could ensure personal security
and rule based interactions in society. Kant was concerned more with the prevention of
war between nations. That would require the simultaneous adoption of a republican
constitution by all nations, which inter alia would check the war-like tendencies of
both monarchs and the citizenry; the cosmopolitanism that would emerge among the