In 2020, more than three quarters of the world’s extreme poor were living in fragile, conflict-ridden countries, with the trend continuing to rise. Poverty and fragility can interact to reinforce each other, but extreme poverty is rarely the main trigger of conflict. On the contrary, recent academic research indicates that “inequality” between different segments of populations is in many cases a decisive driver of conflict. The current issue of Development in Brief summarises some of the key findings from conflict research and indicates the areas in which international development cooperation could provide support.

Horizontal inequality as a driver of conflict – what does science say?(PDF, 44 KB, non-accessible)