Food insecurity and the conflict trap

A recent paper released by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Policy Planning and Strategy Division analyses the link between food insecurity and conflict, both political (e.g., revolutions, civil unrest) and violent (e.g., civil or interstate war). The report also identifies ways, which are discussed below, in which national governments and the international community can provide food assistance that restores peace and builds social capital.

In Food Insecurity and Violent Conflict: Causes, Consequences and Addressing the Challenges, authors Henk-Jan Brinkman and Cullen S. Hendrix illustrate clearly that food insecurity is a “threat and multiplier for violent conflict”. Based on their fairly broad review of the research, in which more than 100 sources were referenced, “[f]ood insecurity, especially when caused by higher food prices, heightens the risk of democratic breakdown, civil conflict, protest, rioting, and communal conflict.”