Armed Violence and Development
The complex links between armed violence and underdevelopment — with armed violence being both a cause and consequence of underdevelopment — are becoming better understood.
As the Global Burden of Armed Violence report has stated, the human and economic costs of armed violence are tremendous. Armed violence affects all societies, all countries and people of all walks of life. It can trigger forced displacement, erode social capital, and destroy infrastructure. It can impede investment in reconstruction and reconciliation. Armed violence can undermine public institutions, facilitate corruption, and be conducive to a climate of impunity. Armed violence contributes to and is sustained by transnational crime including the trafficking of persons, drugs, and arms. When associated with interpersonal and gender-based violence, it unravels the fabric of families and communities and leaves lasting psychological and physical scars on survivors.
Armed violence is not only a cause of underdevelopment, it is also a consequence of it. Risk factors of armed violence such as weak institutions, systemic economic and horizontal inequalities, exclusion of minority groups, unequal gender relations, limited education opportunities, persistent unemployment, organized crime, and the availability of illicit firearms and drugs can all be associated in one form or another with challenges of underdevelopment.
The complex links between armed violence and underdevelopment — with armed violence being both a cause and consequence of underdevelopment — are becoming better recognized. More practical evidence on the costs of armed violence and its underlying risk factors is needed to show how and when armed violence undermines development prospects and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal.