The Pacifying Effect of Education on Civil War Intensity in Greed and Grievance Driven Violence in Africa

Posted: 22 Mar 2013

Date Written: 2013

Abstract

Over the past half-century, the occurrence of civil war has increased dramatically compared to any other point in history. Sub-Saharan Africa has been disproportionately devastated by civil war, experiencing more conflict than any other region since the end of decolonization. This paper looks at the effect educational development has on the intensity of civil war in Africa by comparing two education variables to the number of deaths sustained per year during civil war. It builds on the existing civil war literature by expanding past research on the effects of education on civil war onset to include civil war intensity, within the greed and grievance theory literature. Government spending on education/total spending is used as a grievance theory proxy, and male secondary school enrollment rate is used to proxy greed theory. I develop a theoretical framework for the mechanisms that cause both education development indicators to have a pacifying effect on civil war intensity, and then use regression analysis to test the hypotheses against other known catalysts of violence. Through a better understanding of the causal mechanism between educational development and civil war intensity, researchers and policy makers will be better equipped to avoid future deadly conflicts.

Suggested Citation

Wellendorf, John, The Pacifying Effect of Education on Civil War Intensity in Greed and Grievance Driven Violence in Africa (2013). ASA 2013 Annual Meeting Paper , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2237383

John Wellendorf (Contact Author)

Villanova University ( email )

No Address Available

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