Book
War, Hunger, and Displacement

Weak States and Vulnerable Economies : Humanitarian Emergencies in Developing Countries

Since the end of the cold war, the number of civil wars in developing countries has escalated to the point where they are the most significant source of human suffering in the world today. Although there are many political analyses of these emergencies, this two-volume work is the first comprehensive study of the economic, social, and political roots of humanitarian emergencies, identifying early measures to prevent such disasters. Nafziger, Stewart, and Väyrynen draw on a wide range of specialists on the political economy of war and on major conflicts to show the causes of conflict. The first volume provides a general overview of the nature and causes of the emergencies, including economic, political, and environmental factors. The second volume provides detailed case studies of thirteen conflicts (including Rwanda, Burundi, the Congo, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus) that originated in the weakness of the state or where economic factors predominate. The volumes emphasize the significance of protracted economic stagnation and decline, high and increasing inequality, government exclusion of distinct social groups, state failure and predatory rule. They debunk beliefs recurrent in the literature that emergencies are the result of deteriorating environmental conditions, structural adjustment, and deep-seated ethnic animosity. By analysing the causes and prevention of war and humanitarian emergencies in developing countries, this work outlines a less costly alternative to the present strategy of the world community of spending millions of dollars annually to provide mediation, relief, and rehabilitation after the conflict occurs.

Table of contents
  1. Case Studies of Complex Humanitarian Emergencies: An Introduction
    Wayne Nafziger, Frances Stewart, Raimo Väyrynen
  2. Afghanistan: The Last Cold-War Conflict, the First Post-Cold-War Conflict
    Barnett R. Rubin
  3. Cambodia: Genocide, Autocracy, and the Overpoliticized State
    Philippe Le Billon
  4. Iraq: Economic Embargo and Predatory Rule
    Abbas Alnasrawi
  5. Burundi: The Long Sombre Shadow of Ethnic Instability
    Patrick D. Gaffney
  6. Rwanda: The Social Roots of Genocide
    Peter Uvin
    More Working Paper | Development, Aid and Conflict
  7. Somalia: The Struggle for Resources
    Juha Auvinen, Timo Kivimäki
  8. Liberia and Sierra Leone: The Competition for Patronage in Resource-Rich Economies
    William Reno
    More Working Paper | Humanitarian Emergencies and Warlord Economies in Liberia and Sierra Leone
  9. Congo (Zaire): Corruption, Disintegration, and State Failure
    Kisangani N. F. Emizet
    More Working Paper | Zaire after Mobutu
  10. Kenya: Economic Decline and Ethnic Politics
    Jeni Klugman
  11. Haiti: Towards the Abyss?: Poverty, Dependence, and Resource Depletion
    Mats Lundahl
    More Working Paper | Towards the Abyss?
  12. El Salvador: Economic Disparities, External Intervention, and Civil Conflict
    Manuel Pastor, James Boyce
    More Working Paper | The Political Economy of Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
  13. The South Caucasus: The Breakdown of the Soviet Empire
    Raimo Väyrynen, Leila Alieva
  14. Weak States and Humanitarian Emergencies: Failure, Predation, and Rent-Seeking
    Raimo Väyrynen
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Endorsements

'This work may well be opening up a new research arena. By explicitly framing the analysis in a political economy approach, and by visualizing various forms of state failure and institutional collapse, these studies raise troublesome questions for the international community.' - Development and Change

'This major two volume study on a subject of increasing importance, deserves wide attention." - Development Policy Review

'Everyone interested in the issues and regions discussed will find considerable value in these books, which deserve a place in any serious library.' - Martin Shaw, Journal of Development Studies