Food as an Instrument of War in Contemporary African Famines: A Review of the Evidence

Abstract

Famine is conventionally portrayed as a natural disaster expressed in terms of food scarcity and culminating in starvation. This view has attracted criticism in recent years as the political, legal and social dimensions of famine have become more clearly understood. This paper draws upon these criticisms to understand the particular conditions of famine creation in conflict situations. Following an examination of six contemporary African famines, it is suggested that the use of food as a weapon of war by omission, commission and provision has contributed to the creation of famine in recent decades. Despite the optimism for peace engendered by the demise of the Cold War, the momentum for conflict would seem to be sustained by internal factors, including economic and environmental decline, political instability and ethnic rivalry. Within these conflicts, the strategic importance of food is likely to remain central. This study highlights the need to link concerns with food security and public health to those of development, human rights and international relations.

Food Insecurity and Conflict Dynamics: Causal Linkages and Complex Feedbacks

“…Finally, the fact that food denial is often incorporated into counterinsurgency operations suggests that acute and severe food insecurity should suppress insurgent violence (Macrae and Zwi 1992). In conflicts ranging from the Second Boer War (1899)(1900)(1901)(1902) 7 and the Ethiopian-Eritrean civil war to the ongoing conflict between the Government of the Sudan and rebel movements in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, denial of food and food aid has been a central part of counterinsurgency strategies (Valentino, Huth andBalch-Lindsay 2004, Downes 2007).…”

The Study of Natural Disasters, 1977–97: Some Reflections on a Changing Field of Knowledge

“…Third, as detailed elsewhere in this issue, many developing countries have seen relief become politicised and militarised, with attacks on humanitarian aid convoys and other operations, expropriation of aid for military purposes and the subjugation, annihilation or exploitation of civilian populations who are deserving of impartial assistance (Macrae and Zwi, 1992). The blending of all-out or guerrilla warfare and political breakdown with natural disaster impacts has occurred in societies that are distinguished by groups of people, generally élites, who have a vested interest in perpetuating conflict and instability.…”

The Cost of War on Public Health: An Exploratory Method for Understanding the Impact of Conflict on Public Health in Sri Lanka

“…Mortality and morbidity that stem from the indirect effects of war range from being equal to the number of deaths experienced in war, to being over nine times greater than the death rate due to violence [2, 7–9]. Such deaths occur in combatant and civilian populations alike as crude death rates, maternal mortality rates, and infant mortality increase during war and in the post-conflict period rise [2, 6, 10–12]. The destruction caused by war creates prolonged instability, and brings high direct- and opportunity-costs that impact household and national development [3, 5, 6, 8, 13–16].…”