In conflict literature, much attention has been given to the relation between food prices and conflict, as well as the effects of climate change on conflict and food security, in an attempt to...Show moreIn conflict literature, much attention has been given to the relation between food prices and conflict, as well as the effects of climate change on conflict and food security, in an attempt to explain civilian victimisation through food security. However, the effect of crop pests and diseases on violence against civilians has not been studied, despite the large proportion of worldwide crop loss caused by these factors. This study theorises that these pests pressure the local food supply and thus force armed groups to use violence in order to obtain their necessary resources from the local population. This results in the hypothesis that the occurrence of plant pests in an area increases the risk of violence against civilians by non-state actors. Specifically, this study focuses on the effects of locust swarms in four African countries: Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. The hypothesis is quantitatively tested using both OLS regression and negative binomial regression. A positive correlation between locust swarm occurrence and violence against civilians is found, which holds up against both fixed effects and specific control variables. This new finding suggests that the occurrence of locust swarms shortens the time horizons for cooperation between rebels and the local population, incentivising rebels to quickly gain resources using violence rather than engaging in long-term, more peaceful cooperation.Show less
Due to climate change and rising temperatures, the world is more often facing extreme weather conditions like drought. Such conditions of water scarcity especially cause problems in countries...Show moreDue to climate change and rising temperatures, the world is more often facing extreme weather conditions like drought. Such conditions of water scarcity especially cause problems in countries dependent on agriculture, where failed harvests can cause negative income shocks and grievance development, influencing conflict. Focusing on the relationship between conflict intensity and water scarcity, this research explores the case of the Syrian civil war from 2011-2017, finding that over-time differences in temperatures can explain monthly variations in number of deaths. This research thereby confirms the fact that rising temperatures can lead to more intense conflict and concludes with brief discussion of policy recommendations to tackle drought-related conflict.Show less
The sibling relationship is a unique and long lasting relationship for individuals, which contributes to the social development of a child. During childhood and adolescence, the relationship...Show moreThe sibling relationship is a unique and long lasting relationship for individuals, which contributes to the social development of a child. During childhood and adolescence, the relationship between siblings changes especially in the amount of warmth and conflict between them. Previous research shows that the experience of differential parenting can cause feelings of jealousy, which in turn affects the quality of the sibling relationship in forms of less warmth and more physical or psychological aggression. The current cross-sectional study examined the relation between differential parenting and physical or psychological aggression between siblings and the potential moderating role of the warmth within the sibling relationship. The sample consisted of 22 children between 9 and 18 years old and their 19 younger siblings also between 9 and 18 years old. The study used online self-report questionnaires to measure the experienced differential parenting (SIDE), sibling physical and/or psychological aggression (CTS2-SP) and the perceived warmth within the sibling relationship (SRQ-S). The results showed a significant relation between differential parenting and psychical or psychological aggression within the sibling relationship for the youngest siblings. This means that when the youngest sibling is experiencing differential parenting, there also will occur more physical or psychological aggression. This relation remained significant when controlling for warmth between the sibling relationship. This relation was not found for the older siblings, which means that when the older siblings experience differential parenting this will not lead to physical or psychological aggression. No significant moderation effect was found for warmth within the sibling relationship on the relation between differential parenting and physical and/or psychological aggression for both the oldest and youngest siblings. Future research should focus more on the possibilities that sibling relationships can offer, especially which protective role a sibling relationship might have. It is also important that parents become more aware of how their children might experience certain parental behavior and what consequences this might have.Show less
