| ID | 147487 |
| Title Proper | Aiding victims, abetting violence |
| Other Title Information | the influence of humanitarian aid on violence patterns during civil conflict |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Wood, Reed M ; Molfino, Emily |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Annual allocations of bilateral and multilateral humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected states total billions of dollars each year. Humanitarian assistance plays a vital role in sustaining vulnerable populations. However, inflows of such aid may also exacerbate violence by both threatening insurgents and creating incentives for these groups to extend or deepen control over the areas in which aid is concentrated. Insurgent efforts to ameliorate threats and co-opt resources ultimately raise the risk of conflict between insurgent and counterinsurgent forces. We use recently constructed geo-located data on both aid commitments and conflict events in a sample of twenty sub-Saharan African countries during the post–Cold War era to evaluate the impact of aid on violence. Even after accounting for the non-random assignment of aid within conflict zones, we find that humanitarian aid increases the frequency of subsequent violent engagements between rebel and government forces in the areas in which aid is concentrated. Importantly, however, we find no evidence that other forms of foreign development aid exacerbate or prolong violence in the areas in which they are allocated. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Global security Studies Vol. 1, No.3; Aug 2016: p.186-203 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Global security StudiesVol: 1 No 3 |
| Key Words | Violence ; Insurgency ; Humanitarian Aid ; Conflict Processes ; Civil War |