Most recent armed conflicts around the world have been flare-ups of previously settled wars, concludes a new report from University of Maryland researchers. The report also identifies current terrorism as largely ‘a by-product of the war in Iraq. ‘Strikingly, of the 39 different conflicts that became active in the last 10 years, 31 were conflict recurrences – instances of resurgent, armed violence in societies where conflict had largely been dormant for least a year, reports the 2010 edition of Peace and Conflict, a biennial report produced by the University of Maryland’s Center for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM). http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/pc/executive_summary/exec_sum_2010.pdf ‘This is a sobering reminder that we’re entering a period of destabilization that we have characterized as a conflict syndrome, says report co-author and CIDCM researcher Joe Hewitt. ‘Conflicts are becoming increasingly resistant to peace efforts. It’s clearly easier to stop conflict than to rebuild countries torn apart by war. Without adequate resources and international commitment, there is no certainty that the obstacles can be overcome. http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/staff/staff_member.asp?id=111 The report adds that internationally brokered settlement or containment initiatives launched since the early 1990s ‘did not deal effectively with root causes. Slow economic growth, badly timed international aid and […]