When state capacity dissolves: Explaining variation in violent conflict and conflict moderation

Democracy, Violent Conflict and National Development in Nigeria

There seems to be a debate on the validity of democratic peace theory. Whilst, some scholars and schools of thought have argued that democracy engenders peace, others have argued exactly the opposite. In the Nigerian context, democracy appears to have been characterized by violence, this paper examines democracy and violent conflicts and in origins and its implications for development with a pa...

Religion, Conflict, and Cooperation Section 1: Introduction Section Iii: History of Religion and Violent Conflict Section Iv: Explaining the Link between Religion and Violent Conflict Section Iv: Religion and Non-violent Conflict

Religion engenders conflict and cooperation. Defining religion is a prerequisite for pondering this paradox. Scholars define religion in several ways (Roberts 2004). Functional definitions focus on what religion does for adherents, such as providing a perspective from which to interpret the world, helping cope with life's trials, and addressing concerns about the purpose of life and eventuality...

Violent Conflict, Poverty and Chronic Poverty

External Wars, Internal Conflict and State Capacity: Panel Date Evidence

Relying on cross-country data, empirical studies have pointed at external wars as engines for the development of a state’s capacity, and at internal conflicts as having the opposite effect. Concerns about possible reverse causality driving these results emerge, as the cross-sectional approach ignores the role of initial conditions and the persistence of state capacity. This paper re-examines th...

When Conflict Helps Learning

We describe techniques, implemented in a junior software engineering course, for creating an environment of safety and for regulating the amount of conflict so that students can learn how to use conflict to benefit their learning and the project instead of being overwhelmed or discouraged by it. Inter-personal and intra-personal conflicts are inevitable in our lives and in the workforce, so lea...