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Book part
Publication date: 20 July 2011

Topher L. McDougal

Purpose – Rural–urban divides characterize many violent internecine conflicts. The lack of rural development is often cited as an underlying structural cause of this phenomenon…

Abstract

Purpose – Rural–urban divides characterize many violent internecine conflicts. The lack of rural development is often cited as an underlying structural cause of this phenomenon, and thus strengthening rural–urban linkages is often touted as a way of dismantling the structural conditions for internecine violence. This chapter attempts to identify how both the strength and the form of rural–urban linkages influence the intensity of insurgent violence.

Methodology – Using geographic information systems, this chapter analyzes the intensity of specific violent attacks by rural insurgent groups in Maoist India as a function of rural–urban linkages and transportation network redundancy.

Findings – It finds that the degree of interconnectivity in transportation networks is a more robust determinant of restraint among violent actors than the sheer strength of rural–urban linkages. Production networks characterized by highly networked road systems are more likely to incent restrained behavior among rebel groups, which may be dependent on taxation or extortion through obstruction.

Limitations/implications – The chapter quantitatively analyzes a phenomenon, but does not identify causal mechanisms driving it. The policy implication is that providing transportation infrastructure within rural areas may be a more effective guard against insurgent violence than connecting urban and rural areas.

Originality – The chapter makes a methodologically unique link between the large existing literature on rural–urban linkages, and the growing literature on trade networks in violent conflict.

Details

Ethnic Conflict, Civil War and Cost of Conflict
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-131-2

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 November 2020

Nicole Cvenkel

The sawmill shootings in British Columbia, Canada, resulted in fatalities and grievous injuries to workers, which have put a sensational face on workplace violence in the forestry…

Abstract

The sawmill shootings in British Columbia, Canada, resulted in fatalities and grievous injuries to workers, which have put a sensational face on workplace violence in the forestry sector. Yet, for all of the attention devoted after this horrific incident, to the growth and possible consequences of workplace violence, little empirical investigation has been done regarding the extent to which this type of violence may have permeated the sawmill forestry workplace in Canada; employees' experiences of workplace violence; employees' definition of workplace violence; the specific type of violence that occurs in sawmills; and the drivers of workplace violence as experienced and perceived by managers, union, and employees in the forestry sector context in British Columbia, Canada.

This research critically explores these questions to better understand employees' experiences of workplace violence, the problems of violence and its implications for workplace stress, well-being, leadership, and corporate governance. This research contributes to the workplace violence body of knowledge as it relates to employment in the forestry sector in British Columbia, Canada.

A mixed methodological approach was adopted using 367 questionnaire survey, 20 telephone interviews, and 2 focus groups lasting 45–60 minutes (managers and employees) were used to focus on managers, union, and employees' accounts of their own experiences and perceptions of workplace violence.

The analysis of the data in this study lends support to the conclusion that workplace violence waged against workers in the forestry sector is significantly different than the violence being perpetrated in other sectors and work settings. The findings further suggest that forestry workers work environment, communities, and activity contributes meaningfully to the differences in workplace violence experienced by Sawmill employees.

Insights obtained from this research can be used to develop educational tools and resources, and new policies to foster workplace practices conducive to reducing drivers to workplace violence, towards a more respectful workplace and overall employee well-being.

Book part
Publication date: 18 November 2020

Imogen Richards

The 2006 General Assembly adoption of the United Nations (UN) Global Counter-terrorism strategy marked the first time all member states ratified a collective counter-terrorism…

Abstract

The 2006 General Assembly adoption of the United Nations (UN) Global Counter-terrorism strategy marked the first time all member states ratified a collective counter-terrorism (CT) agenda. Building on the 2000 Millennium Development Goals, the strategy incorporated Amartya Sen's capability-based approach to development. This promised human-oriented and holistic methods for countering terrorism and violent extremism, in contrast to the post-2001 ‘hard security’ context of the United States–led Global War on Terror (GWOT). Although the first pillar of the strategy emphasised human rights and social progress over isolated economic growth, poverty, violence and retrogression in conflict zones since 2006 have led to the deaths of millions. Combined with resource scarcity and environmental devastation, insurgency-related conflicts have resulted in 70 million people displaced worldwide in 2019, while the politically violent phenomena of extreme right-wing nationalism and neo-jihadism remain prevalent. Reflecting on the social and economic outcomes of the GWOT, this chapter evaluates development-related discourses and activity in UN-led initiatives to counter and prevent violent extremism and terrorism. In doing so, it accounts for the impacts of UN CT measures on contemporary patterns ‘in phenomena described in policy arenas as ‘violent extremism’ and ‘terrorism’, including ‘neo-jihadism’ and right-wing extremism, in Global North and Global South contexts.

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Crime, Justice and Sustainable Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-355-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 July 2010

Jens Christopher Andvig

Extensive corruption and civil wars are two different symptoms of state failure, but have most of the time been studied separately. This article systematically compares the…

Abstract

Extensive corruption and civil wars are two different symptoms of state failure, but have most of the time been studied separately. This article systematically compares the organizational characteristics of the two phenomena as well as the various research efforts into them, with a focus on economic explanations. It argues that it is unreasonable to believe that economic motivation may become an important trigger for the recruitment of rebel leaderships in countries ridden by corruption, except when their access to the state's pots is blocked. The article examines in various other ways the implications of research carried out in each field for the other.

Details

Troubled Regions and Failing States: The Clustering and Contagion of Armed Conflicts
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-102-3

Book part
Publication date: 29 July 2009

Partha Gangopadhyay and Manas Chatterji

In many societies, conflicts of violent nature regularly spring up that usually cause a destruction of economic and social assets and needless loss of human lives. Violent…

Abstract

In many societies, conflicts of violent nature regularly spring up that usually cause a destruction of economic and social assets and needless loss of human lives. Violent conflicts and food entitlements seem to bear mutual feedbacks: first and foremost, as violent conflicts result in destruction of economic assets, conflicts usually tell upon the cultivation of foods, procurement and storage of foods and also the distribution and marketing of foods. The disruption in the agrarian sector can lead to serious decline in food availability and consequent famines, which can exacerbate and fuel further conflicts. On the other hand, the distribution and availability of foods can trigger violent conflicts in backward societies as a means to acquire and retain food entitlements, which can in turn jeopardise the agrarian equilibrium. Thus, the relationship between food entitlements and conflicts are a double-edged sword that can lend precarious instability to a backward society. During the last five decades, governments in developing nations have kept a close vigil on their agrarian sector, yet there is a clear indication in the global economy that warns of a looming food crisis, especially in the poorer regions of our globe. Food crises can seriously challenge global peace. Conflicts and hunger are hence complex phenomena. This chapter provides a comprehensive, and possibly the first, study of the economics of food entitlements and potential threats of conflicts in the current conjuncture.

Details

Peace Science: Theory and Cases
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-200-5

Book part
Publication date: 8 July 2010

Leanne Piggott

Purpose – Since September 2001, most studies of terrorism have focused on the motives and operations of transnational terrorist groups, especially Islamist jihadi groups. Yet…

Abstract

Purpose – Since September 2001, most studies of terrorism have focused on the motives and operations of transnational terrorist groups, especially Islamist jihadi groups. Yet statistics from the past decade indicate that most terrorist attacks occurred within violent internal conflicts. Indonesia is a case in point. Following the fall of the Soeharto regime in 1998, terrorism became a hallmark of separatist and inter-communal violence that cost the lives of thousands of Indonesians. The aim of this chapter is to look beyond the jihadi-focused prism of terrorism studies and to examine the secessionist conflicts in Aceh and Papua to determine why and to what extent terrorism was used by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Free Papua Movement (OPM) respectively, and the role that economic factors played in the process.

Methodology – By synthesising the causes of violent internal conflicts and of terrorism, a framework of societal and organisational factors is constructed to explain why terrorism was used by GAM and OPM, and why, in the case of GAM it stopped, while in the case of OPM, it continues.

Findings – In general, socio-economic and political factors rather than religious ideology explain why terrorism was used by GAM and continues to be used by OPM in their respective secessionist conflicts. Economic grievances fuelled by resource exploitation and inequitable sharing of resource rents have been contributing factors.

Originality/value of chapter – The analysis departs from previous approaches, which have focused primarily on the causes and course of the conflicts themselves and not on when and why such conflicts have included terrorist attacks.

Details

Economics of War and Peace: Economic, Legal, and Political Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-004-0

Book part
Publication date: 12 November 2018

Andreas Neef and Jesse Hession Grayman

This chapter introduces the tourism–disaster–conflict nexus through a comprehensive review of the contemporary social science literature. After reviewing conceptual definitions of…

Abstract

This chapter introduces the tourism–disaster–conflict nexus through a comprehensive review of the contemporary social science literature. After reviewing conceptual definitions of tourism, disaster and conflict, the chapter explores various axes that link through this nexus. The linkages between tourism and disaster include tourism as a trigger or amplifier of disasters, the impacts of disasters on the tourism industry, tourism as a driver of disaster recovery and disaster risk reduction strategies in the tourism sector. Linkages between tourism and conflict include the idea that tourism can be a force for peace and stability, the niche status of danger zone or dark heritage tourism, the concept of phoenix tourism in post-conflict destination rebranding, tourism and cultural conflicts, and tourism’s conflicts over land and resources. Linkages between disaster and conflict include disasters as triggers or intensifiers of civil conflict, disaster diplomacy and conflict resolution, disaster capitalism, and gender-based violence and intra-household conflict in the wake of disasters. These are some of the conversations that organise this volume, and this introductory chapter ends with a summary of the chapters that follow.

Details

The Tourism–Disaster–Conflict Nexus
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-100-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 August 2023

Steve Killelea

This chapter presents research and analysis on the Institute for Economics and Peace’s (IEP’s) index in the Ecological Threat Report (ETR). In the analysis, 178 countries are…

Abstract

This chapter presents research and analysis on the Institute for Economics and Peace’s (IEP’s) index in the Ecological Threat Report (ETR). In the analysis, 178 countries are examined at the sub-national level, accounting for 99.9% of the global population. The estimate consists of five indicators that aggregate to yield an index of ecological threats. These five indicators are water risk, the prevalence of stunting, the impact of natural disasters, projected population growth and projected temperature rise. The ETR is a tool that can be used to identify the countries that are at the highest risk of ecological threats. The index identifies that 30 countries facing the highest level of ecological threats as well as low levels of resilience are home to 1.26 billion people. At the end of 2020, in these 30 countries, 68% of the total people were forcibly displaced beyond their borders. As these 30 countries suffer collectively from the highest ecological threats and without the reversal of ecological degradation, displacement is very likely to continue. Without urgent development, ecological threats will continue to create humanitarian emergencies and will likely increase without a sustained effort to reverse the current trend.

Details

International Migration, COVID-19, and Environmental Sustainability
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80262-536-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 29 July 2009

Partha Gangopadhyay and Manas Chatterji

By so doing the current research manuscript will offer a series of new insights into the problems and prospects of war, peace and conflicts. In order to shed new lights on the…

Abstract

By so doing the current research manuscript will offer a series of new insights into the problems and prospects of war, peace and conflicts. In order to shed new lights on the pressing issues related to peace, we will approach the problem and prospects of war and peace from new angles and thereby evade the dominant tradition, methodology and models within which the existing work had proceeded so far. Let us have a look at the central issues that our work will examine in great detail.

Details

Peace Science: Theory and Cases
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-200-5

Book part
Publication date: 24 October 2022

Mehdi Shiva, Hassan Molana and Andrzej Kwiatkowski

While climatic conditions are believed to have some influence on triggering conflicts, the existing empirical results on the nature and statistical significance of their…

Abstract

While climatic conditions are believed to have some influence on triggering conflicts, the existing empirical results on the nature and statistical significance of their explanatory role are not conclusive. We construct a dataset for a sample of 139 countries which records the occurrence of an armed conflict, the annual average temperature and precipitation levels, as well as the relevant socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic measures over the 1961–2011 period. Using this dataset and controlling for the effect of relevant nonclimate variables, our comprehensive econometric analyses support the influencing role of climatic factors. Our results are robust and consistent with the hypothesis that climate warming is instrumental in raising the probability of onset of internal armed conflicts and suggests that, along with regulating population size and promoting political stability, controlling climate change is an effective factor for inducing peace by way of curtailing the onset of armed conflicts.

Details

Race and Space
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-725-2

Keywords

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