“Today is the day you die. Our orders are to finish off all of you.” These were the words of a FARC rebel as he viciously killed a youth in a manner too grizzly to print.The killing and mutilation continued for decades.A slow-burning asymmetric war, known simp... More »
According to the World Bank (2019), close to half the world’s population lives in countries where development goals are hindered by conflict and violence. The UNHCR (2019) claims that by the end of 2018, 70.8 million people had been forcibly displaced from the... More »
Renewable energy is increasingly popular as the urgency for climate action intensifies around the globe. Meanwhile, ongoing technological and economic challenges dominate the debate over the deployment of renewables, marginalizing the discussion of the geopoli... More »
Common measurements of the likelihood of success of military or national security endeavors tend to be quantitative factors such as budget size, number of personnel, level of technological advancement, or functionality of equipment. However, sociological facto... More »
Negotiating peace is difficult. However, an equally difficult challenge arises when implementing peace where multiple non-state actors compete for territorial dominance. In “Killing Social Leaders for Territorial Control: The Unintended Consequences of Peace,”... More »
Recent election results around the world reflect political polarization that is straining the fabric of democracy. Voting patterns indicate a preference for authoritarian leaders who promise closed borders and promote nationalism as an ideal. In a world where ... More »
As climate change has altered environments across the globe, it has caused mass migration. For example, an intense drought in Honduras recently led thousands of people to leave their homes and head north to Mexico for an opportunity to earn an agriculture-base... More »
Given the preponderance of violence and civil conflict in Africa, development practitioners are eager to understand the relationship between economic conditions and conflict. Conflict can negatively impact education, health, and state capacity—all important co... More »
Scholars have attempted to clarify whether uncertainty about the outcome of a potential war—victory or defeat—influences state behavior in international crises. Until recently, there was consensus that when two states in a bilateral context have equivalent cap... More »
A recent study shows how climate change contributed to the 2007-2010 drought and how this affected conflict in Syria. More »
The review of 55 scientific articles shows that deviations from moderate climate and precipitation patterns systematically increase the risk of violence and conflict, both on an interpersonal level (assaults, murder, rape) and an intergroup level (political co... More »
New research investigates the relationship between food aid and civil conflicts More »