1,721,157 research outputs found
A theoretical approach to the demand and supply for peacekeeping
No full textThe post-cold war period is characterized by peace operations and negotiations, with increased size, number, and intensity of external interventions, particularly those sponsored by multilateral organizations. This article examines some factors that influence the demand for peacekeeping missions, i.e., conflict situations that invite third-party interventions, as well as the supply of peacekeeping, the ability and desire of states to intervene elsewhere through peacekeeping missions. On the demand side, a framework is developed that synthesizes the main obstacles to peacekeeping intervention, in particular the role of overconfidence, and explains how interpersonal preferences, such as the desire for vengeance, contribute to conflict escalation. On the supply side, the article explains some of the conditions determining countries' contribution to peace missions
Replication Data for: Cultural Distance and Interstate Conflicts
No full textThe literature on the impact of culture on the conduct of international affairs, in particular on conflict proneness, is growing fast. Yet, the question of whether markers of identity influence disputes between states is still subject to disputes, and the empirical evidence on Huntington’s clash of civilizations thesis is ambiguous. One issue is the dichotomous nature of the culture variables used, which reduces the dimensionality of the problem significantly. A second issue is considering countries’ individual identities as immutable objects, when the religious and ethnic makeup of modern societies have dramatically changed in the last few decades. We use an array of measures of cultural distance between states, including time-varying and continuous variables, and run a battery of alternative empirical models. Regardless of how we operationalize cultural distance and the empirical specification used, our models consistently show that conflict is more likely between culturally distant countries
Replication Data for: Cultural Distance and Interstate Conflicts
No full textThe literature on the impact of culture on the conduct of international affairs, in particular on conflict proneness, is growing fast. Yet, the question of whether markers of identity influence disputes between states is still subject to disputes, and the empirical evidence on Huntington’s clash of civilizations thesis is ambiguous. One issue is the dichotomous nature of the culture variables used, which reduces the dimensionality of the problem significantly. A second issue is considering countries’ individual identities as immutable objects, when the religious and ethnic makeup of modern societies have dramatically changed in the last few decades. We use an array of measures of cultural distance between states, including time-varying and continuous variables, and run a battery of alternative empirical models. Regardless of how we operationalize cultural distance and the empirical specification used, our models consistently show that conflict is more likely between culturally distant countries
"Oil above water" : economic interdependence and third-party intervention
Full text linkWe explore economic incentives for third parties to intervene in ongoing internal wars. We develop a three-party model of the decision to intervene in conflict that highlights the role of the economic benefits accruing from the intervention and the potential costs. We present novel empirical results on the role of oil in motivating third-party military intervention. We find that the likelihood of a third-party intervention increases when (a) the country at war has large reserves of oil, (b) the relative competition in the sector is limited, and (c) the potential intervener has a higher demand for oil
Migration, diversity, and economic growth
Full text linkWhen migrants move from one country to another, they carry a new range of skills and perspectives, which nurture technological innovation and stimulate economic growth. At the same time, increased heterogeneity may undermine social cohesion, create coordination, and communication barriers, and adversely affect economic development. In this article we investigate the extent to which cultural diversity affects economic growth and whether this relation depends on the level of development of a country. We use novel data on bilateral migration stocks, that is the number of people living and working outside the countries of their birth over the period 1960–2010, and compute indices of fractionalization and polarization. In so doing, we explore the effect of immigration on development through its effect on the composition of the destination country. We find that overall both indices have a distinct positive impact on real GDP per capita and that the effect of diversity seems to be more consistent in developing countries
Cultural distance and interstate conflicts
Full text linkThe literature on the impact of culture on the conduct of international affairs, in particular on conflict proneness, is growing fast. Yet, the question of whether markers of identity influence disputes between states is still subject to disputes, and the empirical evidence on Huntington’s clash of civilizations thesis is ambiguous. One issue is the dichotomous nature of the culture variables used, which reduces the dimensionality of the problem significantly. A second issue is considering countries’ individual identities as immutable objects, when the religious and ethnic makeup of modern societies have dramatically changed in the last few decades. We use an array of measures of cultural distance between states, including time-varying and continuous variables, and run a battery of alternative empirical models. Regardless of how we operationalize cultural distance and the empirical specification used, our models consistently show that conflict is more likely between culturally distant countries
Does immigration induce terrorism?
Full text linkThere is a heated debate on whether immigration is associated with domestic and transnational terrorism. As of yet, however, we lacked rigorous evidence that could inform this debate. As a contribution to address this shortcoming, we report spatial-econometric analyses of migrant inflows and the number of terrorist attacks in 145 countries between 1970 and 2000. The results suggest that migrants stemming from terrorist-prone states moving to another country are indeed an important vehicle through which terrorism does diffuse. Having said that, the findings also highlight that migrant inflows per se actually lead to a lower level of terrorist attacks. This research significantly improves our understanding of international and domestic terrorism and has critical implications for the scholastic approach to terrorism, as well as for countries’ immigration policies worldwide
Replication Data for "Did terrorism affect voting in the Brexit referendum?"
No full textReplication data for "Did terrorism affect voting in the Brexit referendum?" published in the British Journal of Political Science, by Vincenzo Bove, Georgios Efthyvoulou & Harry Pickar
COVID-19, Security Threats and Public Opinions
No full textThroughout the coronavirus outbreak, politicians and commentators have often adopted a war-like rhetoric, invoking a language more often associated to terrorist violence, rather than epidemics. Although COVID-19 represents primarily a public health emergency, not inflicted by human agency, there are similarities in the type and scope of regulations governments have introduced to tackle the virus and to respond to terrorist attacks. In this article, we first ask what we can learn from the extant studies on the attitudinal and emotional consequences of terrorism, relating it to recent research on public opinions in the wake of COVID-19, in order to better understand and predict how the pandemic will influence public sentiments. We then analyze how attitudes can shift when a critical event not only threatens the population of a country as a whole, but directly affects its political leader. Leveraging recently released survey data, we show how the announcement of Angela Merkel’s quarantine significantly dampened the trust in and the credibility of her government, although this effect was short-lived
The impact of American and British involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq on health spending, military spending and economic growth
Full text linkHad there been no involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, how much lower would military and health spending have been in the US and the UK? And what is the total effect of war on real output variations as compared with its counterfactual? We use a synthetic control method and find that while the UK and the US have experienced similar relative increases in health spending, especially towards the end of the 10-year window, the effect on military spending is much more pronounced in the US. We find that the combined cumulative costs amount to more than 17% of the US GDP and more than 9% of the UK GDP. Moreover, there are no robust signs of a convergence between the true and counterfactual levels of military spending while health spending shows a level shift in the last 5 years in both countries. Finally, there is no evidence of changes in the national income following the sharp increase in defense spending.JRC.DDG.01 - Econometrics and applied statistic
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