A survey of the causes of civil conflicts: natural factors and economic conditions

8 January 2015

By CEE-M

We provide an overview of the roots of civil conflict. We distinguish between economic conditions and natural factors as two broad categories of roots identified in the empirical literature. As a preamble, we present an overview of the theoretical literature on the roots of civil war and distinguish between “capacity-related” and “opportunity-related” causes of conflict. We also provide policy implications regarding the prevention of civil conflicts.