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It goes without saying that conflict has many costs. The loss of human life is the most obvious one. After all, the twentieth century was the deadliest in all of human history. With some 8 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and nearly a million Rwandans in a 100-day period in 1994, it truly earned the moniker "the age of genocide." This is to say nothing of two world wars and the decolonization struggles and civil wars that have marred the latter half of the century in particular. The new century has already witnessed some of the most horrific acts of terrorism in history.
Not to diminish the loss of life, but casualty figures merely scratch the surface of the true cost of conflict. Survivors bear the physical and emotional scars of terror, torture, and rape. Conflict also often has dire consequences for economic and human development, as well as the environment. Within organizations, too, conflict can inhibit the effective functioning of the organization. This essay will attempt to provide a general sense of the true scope of the costs intractable conflicts have for humanity.
Human Costs
Loss of life is perhaps the most obvious cost of violent intractable conflict. Throughout history, technological advancements have made it easier and cheaper to kill more people, whether in domestic conflict or interstate war. The two world wars killed more than 60 million people.[1] In World War II alone, 1 in 22 Soviet citizens were killed, 1 in 25 Germans, 1 in 46 Japanese, 1 in 150 Britons, and 1 in 500 Americans.[2] Over 21 million have been killed since World War II.[3] Particularly in the latter half of the twentieth century, civil war has ravaged much of the world. In the three decades from 1960, civil conflict killed an estimated 700,000 Chinese; 500,000 Indonesians; 2,000,000 Nigerians; 600,000 Ugandans; 500,000 Ethiopians; 415,000 Mozambiqueans; 105,000 Iraqis; and 138,000 Guatemalans.[4] In the Philippines, more than 100,000 lives have been lost since 1970.[5] In the four years of the Khmer Rogue rule in Cambodia, 2 million people died due to execution, starvation, and disease, some 20% of the population.[6] Amnesty International and Americas Watch estimated that as of the early 1990s some 210,000 East Timorese had died under Indonesian occupation (out of a 1975 population of 650,000.)[7] This includes not only government forces and rebels, but also civilians, which points to a broader issue. The costs of large-scale conflict involve not only dead and wounded soldiers, but also innocents. Conflict often produces refugee flows, both within the country and across borders. In the Sudan, where conflict has been ongoing since 1983, over 2 million people have died and more than 4 million displaced, 75% of which are women and children.[8] Refugees are often vulnerable to natural disaster and manipulation by combatants. What is more, refugees produce significant costs for neighboring countries and the international community in general, as they seek to avert a humanitarian disaster.
Costs often go far beyond the conflict. Long-term injuries victims suffer from combat, rape, and torture effect individuals' ability to earn a living. They also often must deal with lasting psychological effects from the trauma suffered. Deep fear, distrust, depression, and sense of hopelessness can last long after the conflict is supposedly "resolved." Landmines and unexploded munitions have proven an insidious problem long after a conflict's end as well. In Mozambique's civil war, for example, 10,000-15,000 people were killed by landmines, and one out of every 1862 is an amputee.[9] Approximately 20 million landmines litter Angola.[10] Mine removal operations do not find every one, so the risk from unexploded munitions even decades after a conflict is over is very real.
Human costs are also often more subtle and widespread than merely the direct victims of violence. Conflict is detrimental for health in a number of ways. Aside from psychological effects, violence often leads to the destruction of medical facilities and the disruption of drugs and medical supplies. What is more, it makes agricultural production difficult both through loss of manpower and destruction of land. This inhibits food supplies, thereby leading to malnutrition. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, some 17 million people face significant food shortages due to the ongoing civil war there.[11] Afghanistan has faced endemic hunger for decades and recent estimates are that only 13% of the population has access to safe drinking water.[12] The consequences of these developments are particularly important for fast-developing children. Kids also often see their education suffer, which has long-term costs for their future ability to earn a living. Over 80% of schools and clinics were destroyed in Sierra Leone's civil war.[13] 45% of Burundian children under the age of 5 are underweight due to food shortages from war and lawlessness.[14]
The plight of women in Afghanistan offers a snapshot of the fact that the costs of conflict often fall disproportionately on women.[15] Under the Taliban, women were stripped of rights. Under these oppressive conditions, Physicians for Human Rights conducted a survey in 1999 and found 97% of Afghan women suffered from depression and 42% had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Two years later, the same organization found that in Taliban-controlled areas, 65% of women had considered committing suicide and 16% had actually attempted it. Some 16% have been victims of rape. Economic conditions are also extremely poor. The literacy rate for women was only 13% in urban areas and less than 4% in rural areas as of early 2001. Poverty has led girls to be married or betrothed in their early teens. Some 50,000 widows live in Kabul alone as a result of the civil war. Combined with the constraints on their freedom, these conditions have made it nearly impossible for women to make a living on their own under the Taliban. Despite the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, many observers continue to report that conditions for most women have not changed substantially.
The plight of women in Afghanistan offers a snapshot of the fact that the costs of conflict often fall disproportionately on women. Under the Taliban, women were stripped of rights. Under these oppressive conditions, Physicians for Human Rights conducted a survey in 1999 and found 97 percent of Afghan women suffered from depression and 42 percent had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Two years later, the same organization found that in Taliban-controlled areas, 65% of women had considered committing suicide and 16% had actually attempted it. Some sixteen percent have been victims of rape. Economic conditions are also extremely poor. The literacy rate for women were only thirteen percent in urban areas and less than four percent in rural areas as of early 2001. Poverty has led girls to be married or betrothed in their early teens. Some 50,000 widows live in Kabul alone as a result of the civil war. Combined with the constraints on their freedom, these conditions have made it nearly impossible for women to make a living on their own under the Taliban. Despite the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, many observers continue to report that conditions for most women has not changed substantially.*
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*This discussion is based on WomenWarPeace.Org's Afghanistan country profile posted here. (accessed June 28, 2004). See http://www.womenwarpeace.org/ for a range of other case studies of how women have been effected by conflict.
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Economic Costs
Conflict has a variety of economic costs both as direct consequence of violence and as foregone choices in order to fund the conflict. To provide one extreme example, World War II is estimated to have cost over $1.3 trillion.[16] In most instances, conflict is accompanied by a drop in GNP as resources and manpower are redirected away from productive endeavors. The workforce is scattered, either enlisted in the conflict or otherwise displaced as refugees. War and sabotage often leave infrastructure in ruins. Resources are diverted from productive endeavors to purchase arms and pay troops. What is more, there are indirect costs in the form of what is foregone, as funds are diverted from other causes to fight the war. Lost investment is often the result as investors seek safer havens.
The world spends an enormous amount of money on military expenditures every year: in 2003 it approached US$900 billion (in constant 2000 US$).[17] After leveling off in the late 1990s, the figure began to climb steadily again in 2000. The top military spenders in 2003 were primarily developed countries,[18] but a few developing countries are on the list such as Iran and Pakistan, money that could clearly have been spent on development activities. Looking at military expenditures as a share of GDP makes it even more clear what has been foregone to support armed forces around the world.[19] "Cutting edge" military weapons are staggeringly expensive: From the 1960s to 1990s, the cost of America's frontline fighter plane grew from approximately $3 million per plane to anywhere between $18 and $31 million depending on configuration. The Lockheed Martin F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack planes run $43 million each.[20] The development of the Trident II missile cost about $40 billion.[21] Each B-2 bomber tops $2.3 billion.[22]
The costs of long-running conflicts are even more stark. According to the World Bank, the two-decade long conflict in Afghanistan has cost US$240 billion in military supplies, humanitarian assistance and lost economic growth.[23] Estimates of the direct impact of Colombia's long-running civil war amount to 11.4% of the gross national product (GNP), or almost US$10 billion per year.[24] The indirect costs to the Colombian economy (encompassing crime, lost investment, productivity gains, and employment opportunities) equal roughly the same amount.[25] Even regional conflicts can have nationwide effects. The persistent conflict in northern Uganda has constrained economic and social development to the tune of at least US$1.33 billion over the last 16 years -- representing about 3% of Uganda's GDP over the period.[26] The Philippine civil war has eaten up an average of 40% of the Philippine military's yearly budget.[27] As of the early 1990s, Indonesia's occupation of East Timor was costing US$1 million per day.[28]
One wonders where their economies would be if peace had been realized. Describing the Cold War period, Sivard notes that "[i]n the 1980s, two governments in three spent more to defend their citizens against military attack than against the everyday hazards of disease, accidents, and ill health; one in three has spent more on military power than on education and health care combined." [29]
Conflict also often produces significant environmental degradation. It is difficult to justify environmental protection when other more immediate concerns exist as a result of the conflict. Therefore, environmental damage from accelerated resource extraction may be severe. Munitions and chemical or biological weapons do long-term damage to the land and well. Conflict also reduces tourism, some of which may have supported eco-tourism efforts.
Organizational Costs
Conflict is also costly within organizations.[30] One can conceive of these costs in a number of ways.[31] First are the direct costs, including such things as fees paid to lawyers and other professionals for their intervention in the conflict. Second, conflict often has significant productivity costs in terms of the value of lost time to the organization. It diverts worker attention from normal duties. Absenteeism often increases due to conflict. What is more, conflict often reduces motivation and increases turnover. Third, conflict can have continuity costs -- namely, it can cause damage to ongoing relationships that wrecks the feeling of community in organizations. Fourth, conflict has emotional costs for those involved.
Despite this, businesses often do not highly value the time necessary to resolve conflict because, at best, it indirectly shows up in the financials. The costs, however, are very real. It is estimated that senior human resource people in Fortune 500 companies spend 20% of their time on litigation and managers spend upwards of 30% of their time dealing with workplace conflict.[32] A more recent study found that managers spend upwards of 42% of their time negotiating agreements to end conflict.[33]
So Why Not Quit?
Given that the costs of conflict are so high, why do people engage in conflict? Why don't they say, "enough is enough," and resolve the conflict as best they can? There are many reasons, which are covered in many of the other essays in this knowledge base. Fundamentally, however, most can be attributed to three reasons:
People underestimate the costs of continuing the conflict, and overestimate their chances of winning.
People know that the conflict is doing great harm, but they see no way out.
People know that the conflict is doing great harm, but they fear that the costs of resolving the conflict will be even higher. The costs of resolving conflict are myriad -- to give one example, as of the end of 1997, approximately 22.3 million people worked in regular armed forces around the world (actually a reduction from 28.7 million at the end of the 1980s.[34]
These problems are all ones that need to be addressed if intractable conflicts are to be successfully resolved and the costs of those conflicts controlled.
[1] Neal Riemer, Douglas W. Simon, and Joseph Romance, The Challenge of Politics (Washington DC: CQ Press, 2003), p. 351.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid., p. 352.
[4] Francis A. Beer, Peace Against War: The Ecology of International Violence (San Francisco: Freeman, 1981) p. 36.; Ruth Sivard, World Military and Social Expenditures, 1989 (Washington DC: World Priorities, 1989) p. 14.; Kevin Merida, "Wreckage in Forgotten Lands," Dallas Morning News, Aug. 6, 1989, 3M-4M.
[5] Carolyn O. Arguilals. "The Cost of War Part 1: Economic Cost of 'Never Ending Conflict': Is P30-M Daily Money for Development or War?" MindaNews. 12 March 2003. http://www.mindanews.com/2003/03/12pep-cost.html (accessed June 17, 2004).
[6] Don Brandt with Matthew J.O. Scott, "An Ounce of Prevention: The Failure of G8 Policy on Armed Conflict - World Vision Policy Briefing Third Quarter 2004, Click here for complete URL
[7] Ian Robinson, "The East Timor Conflict (1975-)," in Michael Cranna, Editor, The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society, (New York: The New Press, 1994), p. 2.
[8] Brandt with Scott.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Shaun Vincent, "The Mozambique Conflict (1980-1992)," in Michael Cranna, Editor, The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society, (New York: The New Press, 1994), p. 87.
[15] This discussion is based on WomenWarPeace.Org's Afghanistan country profile at http://www.womenwarpeace.org/afghanistan/afghanistan.htm (accessed June 28, 2004). See http://www.womenwarpeace.org/ for a range of other case studies of how women have been affected by conflict.
[16] Beer, War Against Peace, p. 122.
[17] See Stockholm International Peace Research Institute at http://web.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_world_graph.html.
[18] See Stockholm International Peace Research Institute at http://web.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_major_spenders.pdf.
[19] See Stockholm International Peace Research Institute at http://web.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_burden.html and http://web.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_share_gdp.html.
[20] Jane's All the World's Aircraft, 195-96 (Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1995).
[21] Sivard, World Military and Social Expenditures, 1991 (Washington DC: World Priorities, 1991) p. 54.
[22] Sivard, World Military and Social Expenditures, 1993 (Washington DC: World Priorities, 1993) p. 56.
[23] World Bank. 2004. "Two Decades Of Conflict Cost US$240 Billion: Now Afghanistan Will Need US$27.5 Billion To Recover." News Release No:2004/294/SAR.
[24] Paula Andrea Rossiasco. 2001. "How Much Does the Conflict Cost Colombia?" Colombia Journal Online. http://www.colombiajournal.org/colombia54.htm (accessed June 16, 2004)
[25] For four very personal descriptions of the impacts of this civil war, see the interviews with four Columbian peasants, available at: /documents/Colombian-Interviews.html
[26] CARE. "Economic cost of the conflict in Northern Uganda." Nov. 13, 2002. http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/0/2c56515522f67abbc1256c75004b7123?OpenDocument (accessed June 17, 2004).
[27] Carolyn O. Arguilals. "The Cost of War Part 1: economic cost of "never ending conflict" is P30-M daily Money for development or war?" MindaNews. 12 March 2003. http://www.mindanews.com/2003/03/12pep-cost.html (accessed June 17, 2004).
[28] Ian Robinson, "The East Timor Conflict (1975-)," in Michael Cranna, Editor, The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society, (New York: The New Press, 1994), p. 2.
[29] Sivard, World Military and Social Expenditures, 1989, p. 7.
[30] See http://www.resolutionworks.org/Public/CostofConflict/index.cfm#Let's%20Calculate for an example of calculating the cost of conflict (at least in the American context).
[31] Stewart Levine, "The Many Costs of Conflict," http://www.mediate.com/articles/levine1.cfm (accessed June 21, 2004).
[32] Cynthia Barnes-Slater and John Ford. 2004. "Measuring Conflict: Both The Hidden Costs and the Benefits of Conflict Management Interventions" http://www.lawmemo.com/emp/articles/measuring.htm (accessed June 16, 2004).; Stewart Levine, "The Many Costs of Conflict," http://www.mediate.com/articles/levine1.cfm (accessed June 21, 2004); Kenneth W. Thomas and W. H. Schmidt, "A Survey of Managerial Interests with Respect to Conflict," Academy of Management Journal, June 1976.
[33] Carol Watson and Richard Hoffman, "Managers as Negotiators," Leadership Quarterly, 7(1), 1996.
[34] US Department of State, World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers 1998 (Washington DC: WS Government Printing Office, 2000) p. 19.
Use the following to cite this article:
Brahm, Eric. "Costs of Intractable Conflict." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: August 2004 <http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/costs_benefits/>.
Sources of Additional, In-depth Information on this Topic
Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:
Online (Web) Sources
Burden Comparison.
Available at: http://web.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_burden.html.
Countries with the highest and lowest military burden in 2002;a social and military expenditure as a share of gross domestic product, 2000-2002
Children of War: Too Young to Serve, Too Young to Die. 2004.
Available at: http://www.aworldofpossibilities.com/details.cfm?id=183.
An interview with Angelina Atyam, Charlotte Atyam, Jo Becker, Emilia Taylor, and Mike Wessels. It's one of the darkest secrets of modern warfare: not a killing machine nor a space weapon but the abduction and enslavement of children as soldiers. This barbaric practice is revealed in the stories of these children but you'll also hear in their voices the strength of the human spirit as many emerge from the dehumanizing world of war committed to banishing this practice from the earth.
Adan, Mohamud, Ruto Pkalya and Isabella Masinde. "Conflict in Northern Kenya: A Focus on the Internally Displaced Conflict Victims in Northern Kenya." Intermediate Technology Development Group, 2003.
Available at: Click here for more info.
This case study describes the nature of violent conflicts in the Northern districts of Kenya. It describes the causes and consequences attached to the conflicts, the actors involved and preventative measures that can be used to transform and prevent these violent episodes.
Rossiasco, Paula Andrea. How Much Does the Conflict Cost Colombia?.
Available at: http://www.colombiajournal.org/colombia54.htm.
This article assesses how much the Colombian civil war has cost the country.
Rakita, Sara and Yoden Thonden. Lasting Wounds: Consequences of Genocide and War for Rwanda's Children. Human Rights Watch.
Available at: http://hrw.org/reports/2003/rwanda0403/.
This report details the human rights abuses Rwandan children still suffer eight years after the genocide. It discusses children languishing in prison, orphans and street children.
Barnes-Slater, Cynthia and John Ford. "Measuring Conflict: Both The Hidden Costs and the Benefits of Conflict Management Interventions." mediate.com , August 2002
Available at: http://www.mediate.com/articles/fordSlater.cfm?nl=7.
Barnes-Slater and Ford pose the question, "what if you could quantify the lost productivity and opportunity costs that on-going workplace conflict creates?" From here they analyze some of the costs and benefits of ADR in the workplace.
Collier, Paul. On the Economic Consequences of Civil War. The World Bank Group.
Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/research/conflict/papers/cw-consq.htm.
A model of the economic effects of civil war and the post-war period is developed in this paper. A key feature is the adjustment of the capital stock through capital flight. The model is tested on data for all civil wars since 1960. After long civil wars the economy recovers rapidly, whereas after short wars it continues to decline.
Cram, James A. and Richard K. MacWilliams. The Cost of Conflict in the Workplace. Cramby River Consultants.
Available at: http://www.crambyriver.com/coc.html.
With a focus on organizations, this article examines the costs of conflict. It discusses the consequences of conflict and outlines their effects (breaking them down into orders).
Kaufer, Steve and Jurg W. Mattman. "The Cost of Workplace Violence to American Business." ,
Available at: Click here for more info.
The phenomenon of workplace violence began generating concern among public and private sector organizations in the United States in early 1990, and the awareness has increased steadily. While perceived as a threat to employees, no statistical information existed to permit the proactive development of prevention programs and policies. This article briefly describes a 1994 and 1996 workplace violence study.
The Costs of War.
Available at: http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/econ/documents/research/war.pdf.
This paper examines the costs of war from an economic point of view. The author suggests a framework for assessing the economic costs of war and discusses the costs of some past conflicts.
Fitzgerald, Valpy and Frances Stewart. The Costs of War in Poor Countries: Conclusions and Policy Recommendations.
Available at: http://www3.qeh.ox.ac.uk/pdf/oup/wau_ch9vol1.pdf.
This paper offers an analysis of the costs of war to impoverished nations. It is primarily an economic analysis, but covers a variety of angles. The report is aimed at helping policymakers understand how poor nations deal with conflict so they may develop effective approaches for aid in the future.
Abadie, Alberto and Javier Gardeazabal. The Economic Costs of Conflict: A Case-Control Study for the Basque Country.
Available at: http://papers.nber.org/papers/W8478.
Abstract: This paper investigates the economic effects of conflict, using the terrorist conflict in the Basque Country as a case study. Our analysis rests on two different strategies. First, we use a combination of other regions to construct a 'synthetic' control region which resembles many relevant economic characteristics of the Basque Country before the outset of political terrorism in the 1970's. The subsequent economic evolution of this 'counterfactual' Basque Country without terrorism is compared to the actual experience of the Basque Country. We find that, after the outbreak of terrorism, per capita GDP in the Basque Country declined about 10 percent points relative to the synthetic control region. Moreover, this gap seemed to widen in response to spikes in terrorist activity. The second part of this study uses the truce declared in September 1998 as a natural experiment to estimate the effects of the conflict. If the terrorist conflict was perceived to have a negative impact on the Basque economy, stocks of firms with a significant part of their business in the Basque Country should have shown a positive relative performance as the truce became credible, and a negative relative performance at the end of the cease-fire. We find evidence that is consistent with this conjecture using event study methods.
Levine, Stewart. "The Many Costs of Conflict." ,
Available at: http://www.mediate.com/articles/levine1.cfm.
This article details the direct costs of everyday conflicts in dollars, productivity and emotional costs.
Women, Peace, and Security.
Available at: http://www.womenwarpeace.org/.
Maintained by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, this website contains a wealth of information on a range of cases on the impact of violent conflict on women.
Herrick, Catherine . Workplace Conflict-- What is the Actual Cost?. Mediation Training Institute International.
Available at: http://www.mediationworks.com/mti/costs1.htm.
This is an analysis of the monetary costs to an organization due to an actual conflict.
World Military Expenditure, 1994-2003. SIPRI.
Available at: http://web.sipri.org/contents/milap/milex/mex_world_graph.html.
This website has a table that shows the world's annual military spending since 1994.
Offline (Print) Sources
Thomas, Kenneth W. and W. H. Schmidt. "A Survey of Managerial Interests with Respect to Conflict." Academy of Management Journal , 1976.
Thomas, Kenneth W. and W.H. Schmidt. "A Survey of Managerial Interests with Respect to Conflict." Academy of Management Journal , 1976.
This is an early classic study of the cost of conflict to organizations.
Slaikeu, Karl A. and Ralph H. Hasson. Controlling the Costs of Conflict: How to Design a System for Your Organization. Jossey-Bass, November 1, 1998.
This book explains the essentials needed to design a complete and effective conflict management system, and gives a step-by-step account of how to implement this type of system in businesses and other types of organizations.
Watson, Carol and Richard Hoffman. "Managers as Negotiators." Leadership Quarterly , 1996.
Luttwak, Edward. "The Curse of Inconclusive Intervention." In Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict. Edited by Hampson, Fen Osler, Chester A. Crocker and Pamela Aall, eds. Herndon, VA: USIP Press, July 1, 2001.
With this chapter, the author argues that wars should not be interrupted by outsiders because left alone, they will eventually burn themselves out. The logic is that outside forces introduce new motivations and resources, while if left to their own, the original parties would eventually fight themselves to a point where the war is no longer worth it and peace would ensue.
Robinson, Ian. "The East Timor Conflict." In The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. Edited by Cranna, Michael and Nils Bhinda, eds. New York: The New Press, 1994.
Robinson, Ian. "The East Timor Conflict (1975 -)." In The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. Edited by Cranna, Michael, ed. New York: The New Press, 1994.
This chapter provides an assessment of the costs of conflict in East Timor for those directly involved in the conflict as well as the international community.
Macdonald, Gordon and Angela Burke. "The former Yugoslavia Conflict." In The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. Edited by Cranna, Michael, ed. New York: The New Press, 1994.
This chapter provides a discussion of the costs and benefits of the conflict in the Balkans for the former Yugoslav republics, the European Union, and the United States.
Quinn, Gregory. "The Iraq Conflict." In The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. Edited by Cranna, Michael, ed. New York: The New Press, 1994.
This chapter examines the costs and benefits of the Gulf War for Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the West. It also undertakes the thought experiment of what would have happened had the conflict not occurred.
Bhinda, Nils. "The Kashmir Conflict." In The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. Edited by Cranna, Michael, ed. New York: The New Press, 1994.
This chapter examines the costs and benefits of the Kashmir conflict for the region as well as India, Pakistan, China, and the West.
Vincent, Shaun. "The Mozambique Conflict." In The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. Edited by Cranna, Michael and Nils Bhinda, eds. New York: The New Press, 1994.
Vincent, Shaun. "The Mozambique Conflict (1980-1992)." In The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. Edited by Cranna, Michael, ed. New York: The New Press, 1994.
This chapter provides an assessment of a whole range of costs (and benefits where applicable) of the Mozambiquan civil war both for Mozambique as well as its neighbors and the international community in general.
Shave, David. "The Peru Conflict." In The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. Edited by Cranna, Michael, ed. New York: The New Press, 1994.
This chapter examines the costs and benefits of the Peruvian civil war to Peru and the United States.
Shalita, Nicholas. "The Sudan Conflict." In The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. Edited by Cranna, Michael, ed. New York: The New Press, 1994.
This chapter examines the costs and benefits of the conflict in Sudan for the country, its neighbors, and the United States.
Cranna, Michael, ed. The True Cost of Conflict: Seven Recent Wars and Their Effects on Society. New York: New Press, May 1995.
This edited volume, put together by a coalition of international humanitarian aid organizations, clearly illustrates the extensive costs of violent conflict. It reveals not only blatant costs in human lives and the like, but also some of the more hidden costs such as economic damage to participants and communities, as well as environmental damage. The seven conflicts examined are: East Timor, Mozambique, Sudan, Peru, Kashmir, and the former Yugoslavia.
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Examples Illustrating this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
Child Soldiers: Healing the Wounds of War. 2004.
Available at: http://www.aworldofpossibilities.com/details.cfm?id=184.
An interview with Ishmael Beah, Carlinda Monteiro, and Mike Wessels. Child soldiers: It's offensive to even put those two words together in the same phrase. Yet 300,000 children are forced into combat in dozens of countries. This is the riveting story of one of them who escaped the violence to become an advocate for ending the use of children in war. He's joined by psychologists who help these children regain peace and a place in the world.
Malapit, Hazel Jean L., Tina S. Clemente and Cristina Yunzal. Does Violent Conflict Make Chronic Poverty More Likely? The Mindanao Experience. Chronic Poverty Research Centre.
Available at: Click here for more info.
This paper using Mindanao as a case study, examines how violent conflict affects poverty rates.
"Impacts Outside the Countries in Conflict." , 2002
Available at: Click here for more info.
This section of the Greater Horn of Africa Initiative for Conflict Prevention discusses the impact of conflict on countries other than those in conflict.
Letters from Iraq: Soldiers & Families Navigate Emotions of War. 2004.
Available at: http://www.aworldofpossibilities.com/details.cfm?id=149.
An interview with Ed Asner, Juanita Firestone, Anne Roesler, Jari Sheese, and Larry Syverson. Soldiers send letters home from Iraq via email, in envelopes, even on the backs of C-ration labels. Here at home, it's the message that counts. Listen to these letters read by family members and actor Ed Asner and hear the emotion and testimony of those in the line of fire and those hoping for their safe return home.
Reports from Iraq's Second Front: The Personal Wounds of War. 2004.
Available at: http://www.aworldofpossibilities.com/details.cfm?id=150.
An interview with Juanita Firestone, Sylvia Myers, Shannon Sharrock, and Fernando Suarez de Solar. To hear the politicians tell it, war is about moral imperatives, stategic objectives and sacrifice-- usually by someone else. But for those who do the fighting and those left at home, it's usually about loss and lonliness. Listen in this program to those at the front and here at home caught in the whirlwind of war and wondering what it's all for.
Sudan: The Continuing Costs of War. World Vision.
Available at: Click here for more info.
This paper analyzes and bemoans the ongoing and staggering costs of the Sudanese civil war. The war has been in progress for over 15 years with extraordinary levels of financial, human, and other costs.
van de Veen, Hans. "Sudan: Who Has the Will for Peace?." , 1999
Available at: Click here for more info.
This article profiles the long legacy of violent conflict in Sudan, Africa's largest nation. Unfortunately, there is still not much hope for peace in the nation after more than thirty years of war.
Rogers, Paul. The Environmental Costs of War. Westmorland General Meeting Preparing for Peace Initiative.
Available at: Click here for more info.
This article uses case examples to describe the affects war has had on the environment in different communities.
Lucy, Ben. "The EU, Northern Uganda and the Prevention of Violent Conflict." African Security Review, Vol. 9, No. 5/6 , 2000
Available at: http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/ASR/9No5And6/Lucy.html.
This paper describes the human and material costs of violent conflict in the Acholi sub-region of Uganda.
Grossrieder, Paul. The Human Costs of War. Westmorland General Meeting Preparing for Peace Initiative.
Available at: Click here for more info.
The author describes the effects war has on individuals and communities.
Uppsala Conflict Database. Uppsala University.
Available at: http://www.pcr.uu.se/database/index.php.
The Uppsala Conflict Database is a free resource of information on armed conflicts of the world.
Offline (Print) Sources
Lifton, R. J. Death in Life: The Survivors in Hiroshima. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, January 1, 1967.
In Japan, 'hibakusha means 'the people affected by the explosion'----specifically, the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima in 1945. In this classic study, Robert Jay Lifton studies the psychological effects of the bomb on 90,000 survivors. Lifton sees this analysis as providing a last chance to understand----and be motivated to avoid----nuclear war. (Amazon)
Danieli, Yael, ed. International Handbook of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma. New York: Plenum Press, January 1, 1998.
This volume is a compellation of essays that examine the costs and effects of violent conflict, genocide, and slavery.
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Audiovisual Materials on this Topic:
Offline (Print) Sources
A Child's Century of War . Directed and/or Produced by: Saywell, Shelley. First Run Icarus Films. 2001.
In this film, children's voices from the past and present are intertwined as they relate the high cost of war. Click here for more info.
Alonso's Dream . Directed and/or Produced by: Lacourse, Daniele and Yvan Patry. First Run Icarus Films. 2000.
This film presents a contemplative and critical look at the impact the Zapatista uprising and paramilitary violence have had on the Mayan people.
Click here for more info.
Rice and Honey: The Effect of the Ethnic Conflict on the Children of Sri Lanka. Directed and/or Produced by: Jacoby, Herzel. Care Source. 1994.
In this film Sinhala and Tamil children relate how the ethnic conflict in their country of Sri Lanka has affected them, their parents, friends, and neighbors
Urbicide: A Sarajevo Diary . Directed and/or Produced by: Rotheroe, Dom. First Run Icarus Films. 1993.
This film by focusing on Sarajevo's destruction, explores the causes and consequences of the Bosnian conflict. Click here for more info.
War and Peace . Directed and/or Produced by: Patwardhan, Anand. First Run Icarus Films. 2002.
This film looks at the human costs of war. Click here for more info.
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