Towards an Economic Theory of Destabilization War: Ideology and Beliefs, Indivisibles and Time Preferences

Thomas Gries and Claus-Jochen Haake ()

Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, 2016, vol. 22, issue 4, 377-384

Abstract: In this note we focus on the particularly long duration of civil armed conflicts. We argue that if conflict parties have extreme ideological beliefs or follow an “irrevocable religious or ideological truth,” there could be three elements in the preference order that may imply a long duration of the conflict. More precise, preference orders of conflict parties are multidimensional. If (1) one dimension is a set of rules that defines an irrevocable ideology and or religious beliefs, and (2) is a necessary element in the preference order, and (3) due to elements of their beliefs – time preference is low, the conflict may have a long duration. For insurgents motivated by such strong beliefs it is essential that their set of rules is established, not when.

Keywords: civil conflict; conflict duration; ideology and beliefs; time preference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1515/peps-2016-0042

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