Population size, concentration, and civil war. A geographically disaggregated analysis

Opium for the Masses? Conflict-Induced Narcotics Production in Afghanistan

“…Government control is better in the north than the south and east. Because we use distance from Kabul as a proxy for government quality, this is exactly what we want 36 This approach is also adopted by Buhaug and Rød (2006), Buhaug, Gates, and Lujala (2009), and Raleigh and Hegre (2009). 37 The GIS data are made available by Afghanistan Information Management Services and are from http://www.aims.org.af/.…”

The search for safety: The effects of conflict, poverty and ecological influences on migration in the developing world

“…Hotspots, of small, defined spaces with high rates of clashes between conflicting parties, can differ across states due to historical circumstance or ethnic demography. They are frequently an urban location yet have higher than average urban conflict episodes (see Raleigh and Hegre (2009) for a discussion). Examples of these include Goma (DR-Congo), Gulu (Uganda), and Kandahar (Afghanistan) (see Beall et al (2011) for a discussion of cities in conflict).…”

“…Contested areas are larger regions where there is both an active government and rebel presence fighting over control of key locations (i.e. population, urban zones, resources, borders) (Raleigh and Hegre, 2009;Raleigh, 2010). These spaces shift in response to changes in power and abilities across actors and have high rates of hit and run activity and typically higher violence against civilians.…”

“…Dynamics in hotspots and frontlines create the most pressing 'threat'; while urban areas see the highest proportion of direct violence and are the site of both outward and inward conflict migration (Raleigh and Hegre, 2009;Beall et al, 2011). Most people will not leave lightly affected areas and those that exit heavily affected areas are encouraged to return during periods of lessened violence (Lischer, 2005).…”

Refugee Geography and the Diffusion of Armed Conflict in Africa

“…Their findings support these arguments -both larger population mass and greater population density contribute to conflict events. 28 Using new spatial data on ethnic groups, Weidmann similarly finds that high levels of ethnic group concentration are positively and significantly related to ethnic conflict. 29 To further evaluate the impact of human geography variables on conflict, this article re-focuses on the interaction effects caused by the spillover of conflict and refugees.…”