Conflict-Induced Migration and Poverty

Conflict is more explicitly broad compared to other important issues in international relations which are quite narrow. Conflict is said to exist when two or more groups engage in a struggle over values and claims to status, power and resources in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure or eliminate the rivals (Jeong, 2000). It (conflict) may also connote hostility or physical confrontation (Jeong, 2000). When goal incompatibility or perception/value differences reach a crescendo, a manifestation of actual hostility or clashes is possible. There are varieties of conflict but conflict in this paper focuses on the intra-state conflict. This type of conflict is confined within the borders of a sovereign state. Social factors, political factors, and economic factors are some of the major causes intra-state conflict. The United Nations is ill-equipped to prevent, much less end, intra-state conflicts. Today’s conflicts and an explosive mix of other interrelated causes including violence, famine, climate-related disasters and political oppression have led to extreme poverty and a global migration and population of major citizens of developing states to the West. Migration, on the other hand, has become an integral part of the current global economy. Both internal and international migration are believed to have major development and poverty implications for individuals and their families, for origin and destination areas, as well as for national economies. Given the above, this paper aims to review existing literature and find evidence on linkages between conflict, poverty and migration, and between migration and development. Recently, evidence has emerged on the linkages between migration and development at both global and national levels. In the area of migration and poverty, however, conclusive evidence is yet to be revealed.