ECH3350 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Human Capital
1 Nov 2016
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Conflict is normal, every society has conflict. Social organizations do not exist without conflict. Society is good at developing institutions, rules to deal with violent conflict. Most people assume that they will never take part in organized violence, but it is possible and does happen. What is not normal is the circumstances that make the step further in creating organized violence. We need theory because it is a way for us to think about causality. 60% of all states have experienced warfare since 1945. Since end of ww2, 16. 5 million people have died in civil conflicts, and 3. 3 million in interstate wars. There were 122 civil wars since 1945 and 25 international wars. Civil conflicts last 6 years on average and bring about widespread refugee dislocations and economic decline. War is according to one economist, development in reverse: resources are invested in violence, violence destroys infrastructure and human capital, violence kills, and violence causes refugees.
