Food security in conflict and peacebuilding settings: beyond a humanitarian concern

Abstract

The article provides a global overview of the food security and conflict situation and discusses the two-way relationship between violent conflict and food security. On the one hand, violent conflict directly impacts food systems, affecting people’s ability to produce, trade, and access food. On the other, heightened food insecurity can contribute to the emergence and duration of conflict. The pathways leading from violent conflict to food insecurity or from food insecurity to conflict are highly complex and deeply contextual. The article draws from major current conflict settings to illustrate these complexities, including the unfolding armed conflict in Ukraine, with implications for food security felt far beyond the conflict-affected areas. The article concludes by arguing that there is an urgent need for incorporating a peace and conflict lens when conceptualising food security to promote a more holistic response across humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding spheres to the rapidly increasing levels of food insecurity. In doing so, it is fundamental to consider agency within a framing of food security. This factor is largely missing from the dominant technocratic or purely economic understanding of food security.

Food systems resilience dialogue and pathway development : Western Bahr el Ghazal State - South Sudan

“…During times of conflict, people in Western Bahr el Ghazal have frequently lost access to their land, disrupting their ability to produce food. Delgado et al (2021) state that violent conflict impacts the food systems and FNS outcomes of people who depend on them and negatively impacts FNS outcomes on the food production side by destroying assets and resources needed for food production, destroying human capital, and increasing risks/diverting resources in the wider operating environment. Further, on the distribution and food sales side, violent conflict impacts negatively on FNS outcomes by disrupting the distribution of food and market links, by reducing availability of goods, by shifting market dynamics, and by changing the institutional market environment (Delgado, et al, 2021).…”

Food security in times of war: Double discourse and violent conflicts. The case of Russia, 2014–2022

“…In this conceptualisation, a humanitarian response is needed, involving international organisations, donors, and civil societies (Delgado and Tschunkert, 2022). In addition, hunger and food issues are interpreted by international development organisations from the perspective of individual responsibility, self-discipline of food consumption behaviours affected by risks, but without generally challenging the models at work.…”

“…In addition, it has two other virtues: It makes the context of enunciation an essential component of the analysis. Finally, it articulates the narratives produced with their audiences and their speakers (Clapp, 2015a; Delgado and Tschunkert, 2022; De Raymond and Goulet, 2020; Fouilleux et al, 2017; Lawrence and McMichael, 2012; Sommerville et al, 2014). The concept of framing emerged from the beginnings of constructivism through the influential figure of Erving Goffman.…”

Dynamics of food demand during political instability: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan

“…Conflicts, encompassing wars and revolutions, lead to unpredictable situations, inflicting grave and enduring repercussions on human populations. A notable consequence is the exacerbation of food insecurity (Delgado et al., 2021; UN FSS, 2021). Food insecurity is progressively concentrated in conflict‐affected areas of developing nations, leading to a harmful cycle of violence and hunger (Brück et al., 2018; Martin‐Shields & Stojetz, 2019).…”

“…Food insecurity is progressively concentrated in conflict‐affected areas of developing nations, leading to a harmful cycle of violence and hunger (Brück et al., 2018; Martin‐Shields & Stojetz, 2019). In 2020, an estimated 720–811 million people faced hunger, with over 99.1 million in 23 countries affected by conflict‐driven food crises (Brück et al., 2018; Delgado et al., 2021; FAO et al., 2021; FSIN & GNAFC, 2021; Martin‐Shields & Stojetz, 2019; UN FSS, 2021). Empirical studies on the impact of conflict on food security often adopt a reduced‐form single equation model to measure total food expenses and aggregated consumption (Adong et al., 2021; Akresh et al., 2011; Dabalen & Paul, 2014; D'Souza & Jolliffe, 2013; Ihle & Rubin, 2013; Koren, 2018; George et al., 2019; Serneels & Verpoorten, 2015; Verwimp & Munoz‐Mora, 2017).…”