"Conflict and Famine" explores the catastrophic relationship between war and hunger, revealing how armed conflict directly causes famine and food insecurity. It examines the ways conflict disrupts both agricultural production and food distribution, showing how these disruptions transform localized food shortages into widespread starvation. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for creating effective policies and humanitarian aid strategies to combat global hunger.
The book argues that conflict systematically undermines food systems, whether intentionally through strategies like scorched earth tactics or unintentionally through the breakdown of infrastructure. For example, the targeting of agricultural infrastructure can immediately reduce food availability and devastate long-term food security and economic stability.
Through case studies of Sudan, Syria, and Ethiopia, the book analyzes how warring parties target food production, manipulate food distribution, and create famine conditions. Beginning with a theoretical framework, the book progresses to detailed case studies and concludes with policy implications for preventing conflict-induced famine and improving humanitarian responses. It combines quantitative data on agricultural yields and malnutrition rates with qualitative data from interviews, bridging the gap between political science and agricultural studies to offer a unique perspective on this critical issue and its relevance to current events and world history.
