Nonparasitic warlords and geographic distance

Authors

  • Jerry Hionis Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics Widener University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.10.1.5

Keywords:

Conflict theory, warlord competition, African economies

Abstract

The explicit consideration of geography in the conflict theory literature is still relatively rare. In this article, two warlords are modeled as being located at opposing ends of a hypothetical line. The model includes variables denoting distance and difficulty of terrain. Each warlord allocates resources to the extraction of natural resources, to the production of goods and services (hence, nonparasitic), and to conflict with the opposing warlord. Two forms of a contest success function, a primary tool in the literature, are used to show that the warlord closer to the point of conflict will invest less into the hiring of warriors and more into the production of goods and services, yet will win a larger proportion of total goods and services produced within the economy. [JEL codes: D74, O17]

References

Blavatskyy, P. 2010. “Contest Success Function with the Possibility of a Draw: Axiomatization.” Journal of Mathematical Economics. Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 267-276. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmateco.2009.11.012

Boulding, K. 1962. Conflict and Defense: A General Theory. New York: Harper and Brothers.

Brito, D. and M. Intriligator. 1990. “An Economic Model of Guerrilla Warfare.” International Interactions: Empirical and Theoretical Research in International Relations. Vol. 15, Nos. 3-4, pp. 319-329. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03050629008434736

Brito, D. and M. Intriligator. 1992. “Narco-Traffic and Guerrilla Warfare: A New Symbiosis.” Defense Economics. Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 263-274.

Buhaug, H. and S. Gates. 2002. “The Geography of Civil War.” Journal of Peace Research. Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 417-433. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022343302039004003

Buhaug, H., S. Gates, and P. Lujala. 2009. “Geography, Rebel Capability and the Duration of Civil Conflict.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 53, No. 4, pp. 544-569. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022002709336457

Buhaug, H. and J.K. Rød. 2006. “Local Determinants of African Civil Wars, 1971-2001.” Political Geography. Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 316-335. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2006.02.005

Chang, Y. and Z. Luo. 2013. “War or Settlement: An Economic Analysis of Conflict with Endogenous and Increasing Destruction.” Defense and Peace Economics. Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 23-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10242694.2012.659862

Clark, D. and C. Raiis. 1998. “Contest Success Functions: An Extension.” Economic Theory. Vol. 11, No. 1, pp.201-204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s001990050184

[Economist] 2011. “The Economics of Violence.” The Economist. 14 April 2011.

Eichstaedt, P. 2013. First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army. Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill Books.

Findlay, R. 1996. “Toward a Model of Territorial Expansion and the Limits of Empire,” pp. 41-56 in M. Garfinkel andS. Skaperdas, eds., The Political Economy of Conflict and Appropriation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Fearon, J. 2005. “Civil War Since 1945: Some Facts and a Theory.” http://igovberkeley.com/sites/default/files/fearon_endo2007.pdf [accessed 2 June 2014].

Fearon, J.D. and D. Laitin. 2003. “Ethnicity, Insurgency and Civil War.” American Political Science Review. Vol. 97, No. 1, pp. 75-90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0003055403000534

Garfinkel, M.R. and S. Skaperdas. 2000. “Conflict without Misperceptions or Incomplete Information.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 44, No. 6, pp.793-807. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022002700044006005

Garfinkel, M.R. and S. Skaperdas. 2007. “Economics of Conflict: An Overview,” pp. 649-710 in T. Sandler and K. Hartley, eds. Handbook of Defense Economics. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Gates, S. 2002. “Recruitment and Allegiance: The Microfoundations of Rebellion.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 111-130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022002702046001007

Hionis, J. 2015. “Online supplement: Nonparasitic warlords and geographic distance.” The Economics of Peace and Security Journal. Vol. 10, No. 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.15355/epsj.10.1.5s

Hirshleifer, J. 1988. “The Analytics of Continuing Conflict.” Synthese. Vol. 76, No. 2, pp. 201-233. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00869589

Hirshleifer, J. 1989. “Conflict and Rent-Seeking Success Functions: Ratio vs. Difference Models of Relative Success.” Public Choice. Vol. 63, No. 2, pp. 101-112. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00153394

Hirshleifer, J. 1991. “The Paradox of Power.” Economics and Politics. Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 177-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0343.1991.tb00046.x

Hirshleifer, J. 2000. “The Macrotechnology of Conflict.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 44, No. 6, pp. 773-792. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022002700044006004

Jia, H. and S. Skaperdas. 2012. “Technologies of Conflict,” 449-472 in M. Garfinkel and S. Skaperdas, eds. The Oxford Handbook of The Economics of Peace and Conflict. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kilcullen, D. 2013. Out of the Mountains: The Coming Age of the Urban Guerrilla. New York: Oxford University Press.

Konrad, K. 2007. “Strategy in Contests: An Introduction.” wZB-Markets and Politics Working Paper No. SP II 2007-01. http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/51106/1/565198513.pdf [accessed 1 September 2014].

Konrad, K. and S. Skaperdas. 2012. “The Market for Protection and the Origination of the State.” Economic Theory. Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 417-443. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00199-010-0570-x

Moldovanu, B. and A. Sela. 2001. “The Optimal Allocation of Prizes in Contests.” American Economic Review. Vol. 91, No. 3, pp. 542-558. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.91.3.542

Münster, J. 2009. “Group Contest Success Functions.” Economic Theory. Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 345-357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00199-009-0479-4

Rai, B. and R. Sarin. 2009. “Generalized Contest Success Functions.” Economic Theory. Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 139-149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00199-007-0328-2

Reno, W. 1998. Warlord Politics and African States. Boulder, CO: Rienner.

Rustad, S.A., H. Buhaug, A. Falch, and S. Gates. 2011. “All Conflict is Local: Modeling Sub-National Variation in Civil Conflict Risk.” Conflict Management and Peace Science. Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 15-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0738894210388122

Sarkees, M. and F. Wayman. 2010. Resort to War: A Data Guide to Inter-State, Extra-State, Intra-State and Non-State Wars, 1816-2007. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

Skaperdas, S. 1996. “Contest Success Functions.” Economic Theory. Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 283-290. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s001990050053 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01213906

Skaperdas, S. 2001. “The Political Economy of Organized Crime: Providing Protection When the State Does Not.” Economics of Governance. Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 173-202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/PL00011026

Skaperdas, S. 2002. “Warlord Competition.” Journal of Peace Research. Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 435-446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022343302039004004

Tullock, G. 1980. “Efficient Rent Seeking,” pp. 97-112 in J. Buchanan, R. Tollison, and G. Tullock, eds. Toward a Theory of the Rent-Seeking Society. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press.

Wittman, D. 2000. “The Wealth and Size of Nations.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Vol. 44, No. 6, pp. 868-884. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022002700044006010

Downloads

Published

2015-04-01

How to Cite

Hionis, J. (2015). Nonparasitic warlords and geographic distance. The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.10.1.5

Issue

Section

Articles

Similar Articles

<< < 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.