Ethnic Polarization and the Duration of Civil War

Introduction The article discusses the relationship between the civil war duration and ethnic polarization. The arguments in the article provide that civil wars are key barriers to the development of the economy. Civil wars lead to the destruction of infrastructure, loss of human life and have an effect on future prospects for investment.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ethnic Polarization and the Duration of Civil War specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The causes of civil wars can be analyzed in relation to their onsets, the duration of the wars, as well as the incidence of civil wars. Civil wars may start randomly, after which conflicts emerge. Factors such as a country having mountains where rebels can hide also contribute to the onset of civil wars. Civil wars may also emanate from low per capita income; this makes a civil war last longer than it would have lasted if the per capita income was high. Lack of demo cracy may also trigger a civil war as rebels form militia groups in order to oust an undemocratic regime (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Literature Review The available literature indicates that certain factors can be attributed to the onset of civil wars. One of the methods used in the estimation of the civil war onset includes logic regression, which analyses some of the causes as high population, with high primary commodity exports, as well as a population that is highly dispersed. Inequalities in incomes, ethnic differences and political liberties may not be significant risk factors for civil war. The available literature also indicates another probable causes of civil war which is oil exports in a country. An analysis on the incidence of civil war shows ethnic polarization as one of the factors affecting the incidence of such wars (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Analysis by Montalvo and Reynal-Qureol shows that democracy and export have little impact on civil wars. In ter ms of duration of civil wars, Gates and Strand estimate that major factors influencing this issue are political instability, parallel conflicts and autocratic regimes. Studies also indicate that income inequality can be regarded as a main cause of civil wars (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Method/Methodology Certain methods can be used to explain the relationship that exists between civil wars incidence and ethnic polarization. One method, which can be utilized, is the traditional ration form, which defines a quadratic based cost function, contest success function, as well as pure contest equilibrium.Advertising Looking for essay on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another model that can be employed to establish relationship between conflict and ethnic polarization, is taking a country that consists of two social groups. This model shows that the discovery of a natural resource may trigger violence between the two groups. The methodology used to establish the relationship between civil wars and ethnic polarization is also based on measuring the duration in relation to years, months, weeks, as well as days (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Methods such as Kaplan-Meier estimation of the survival function can be used to establish the relationship existing between ethnic polarization and duration of civil wars. Based on this method, survival function of countries that have low ethnic polarization tends to be dominated by nations with high ethnic polarization (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Results As indicated in the results provided in the article, ethnic polarization has a profound impact on civil war duration. More pronounced ethnic polarization indicates that the civil wars will last longer than expected. Therefore, ethnic disparities within a population may cause civil wars that may even last for decades. Attention should be directed at polarized countries in order to come up wi th measures, which will ensure civil wars do not take a toll on the population (Montalvo Reynal-Querol 123-143). Works Cited Montalvo, Jose Marta Reynal-Querol. â€Å"Ethnic polarization and the duration of civil wars†. Econ Gov 11 (2010):123–143. Print. This essay on Ethnic Polarization and the Duration of Civil War was written and submitted by user Ronald Nunez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

On the Idle Hill and The Drum Essays

On the Idle Hill and The Drum Essays On the Idle Hill and The Drum Paper On the Idle Hill and The Drum Paper Essay Topic: A. E. Housman Poems Poetry War, in any shape or form, affects people in many different ways. Many people choose to express their feelings and experiences of war in poems. The two poems I have chosen all have different moods, structures and rhythms but their meaning is all the same- war is ruthless, terrifying and pointless. The poem On the Idle Hill is by A. E. Housman (1859-1936). Housman wrote the poem in 1896 and he was not writing about any particular war but just the horror of battle in general. Housman never partook in any war but heard about the terror of it from other peoples experiences. The first verse portrays a peaceful, happy and a warm scene. Words such as summer, sleepy and streams emphasises this. However, the steady drummer cuts through this peaceful atmosphere. It is the sound of the army coming, looking for new recruits to go to war with them. The first stanza seems to be about the drum and how it calls people to war and tears them away from their homes. The line; Drumming like a noise in dreams. Makes the drum seem like a nightmare, something everyone dreads. In the second verse, the tone is lot sadder and darker. The phrases, Far and near and low and louder are suggesting war is everywhere, and can be seen in different levels all over the world. Probably one of the most striking and powerful lines in the poem, Dear to friends and food for powder is very shocking and adds a more personal theme to the poem, because the soldiers are now being seen as friends, fathers and real people instead of just toys in war. The powder is gunpowder so the poet is hinting at the fact that the men are just food for the war. The war is made to sound like a real living thing; this is a good example of personification. The final line of verse two, Soldiers marching, all to die. is depressing and it emphasises the pointlessness and horror of war. The rhyme in On the Idle Hill is a b a b and it keeps a slow, steady rhythm throughout the poem, giving a sad, melancholy tone to the poem. The form is which the writer has set out the poem, in four verses; it is effective because each one talks about a different aspect of war. This poem shows A. E. Housmans hatred of battle and how pointless and ruthless he thinks it is. War has obviously affected him deeply and we can see from his language throughout the poem that he feels very strongly about it. In both poems, they both use similar devices such as similes, metaphors and personification. They were both set in the Pre 1914, the effectiveness of both poems have a very big impact because of these quotations: Lovely lads and dead and rotten; for the Idle Hill and for the Drum its this: And burning towns, and ruined swains, both poems show the misery of war and it impacts the reader making them, feel more sorry for the people that went to war and the people will think war is not patriotic but its unpatriotic. The cultural and social background for Drum and Idle Hill are between wars.