The Analysis of Conflict: A Micro-Level Perspective
| Author | Patricia Justino,Philip Verwimp,Tilman Brück |
| Published date | 01 May 2009 |
| Date | 01 May 2009 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343309102654 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
307
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vol. 46, no. 3, 2009, pp. 307–314
Sage Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi,
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DOI 10.1177/0022343309102654
INTRO-
DUCTION
causes and effects of violent conflict at the
community, household and individual level.
The articles in this special issue provide sig-
nificant conceptual, theoretical and empiri-
cal advances in this research programme.
Past and present violent conflicts, rang-
ing from civil wars to riots and violent mass
protests, affect the lives of millions of people
every year across the world. Violent con-
flicts result in significant lost opportunities
in terms of human and economic develop-
ment and imperil the process of building
democracy, establishing peaceful interna-
tional relations and reducing lawlessness
and terrorism worldwide. At a fundamental
level, conflict originates from individuals’
behaviour and their interactions with their
The Analysis of Conflict: A Micro-Level
Perspective*
PHILIP VERWIMP, PATRICIA JUSTINO & TILMAN
BRÜCK
Households in Conflict Network
This article introduces a special issue on the micro-level dynamics of mass violent conflict. While most
analyses of conflict typically adopt a regional, national or global perspective, often using country-level
data, this special issue takes an explicit micro-level approach, focusing on the behaviour and welfare of
individuals, households and groups or communities. At a fundamental level, conflict originates from
individuals’ behaviour and their repeated interactions with their surroundings, in other words, from
its micro-foundations. A micro-level approach advances our understanding of conflict by its ability to
account for individual and group heterogeneity within one country or one conflict. The contributors
to this special issue investigate the nature of violence against civilians, the agency of civilians during
conflict, the strategic interaction between civilians and armed actors, the consequences of displacement,
the effectiveness of coping strategies and the impact of policy interventions. The core message from
these articles is that in order to understand conflict dynamics and its effects on society, we have to take
seriously the incentives and constraints shaping the interaction between the civilian population and the
armed actors. The kind of interaction that develops, as well as the resulting conflict dynamics, depend
on the type of conflict, the type of armed actors and the characteristics of the civilian population and
its institutions.
This introduces a special issue of the Journal
of Peace Research on the micro-level analysis
of violent conflict. The special issue presents
a representative number of papers result-
ing from an emerging research agenda pro-
moted by the co-editors of this special issue
in their capacity as researchers and co-direc-
tors of the Households in Conflict Network
(www.hicn.org). The objective of HiCN is
to undertake collaborative research into the
* The authors in this special issue have benefited from the
excellent work by many anonymous reviewers whom we want
to thank for their precious time. The guest editors equally
thank JPR Editor Nils Petter Gleditsch and Managing Editor
Glenn Martin for excellent cooperation. Two Associate Edi-
tors solicited the reviews and made the editorial decisions on
the articles by Tilman Brück and Patricia Justino.
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