Food Systems in Conflict and Peacebuilding Settings: Pathways and Interconnections
Publisher: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Author(s): Caroline Delgado, Vongai Murugani, and Kristina Tschunkert
Date: 2021
Topics: Conflict Causes, Land, Livelihoods, Public Health, Renewable Resources
Conflict has a direct negative impact on food systems, affecting people’s ability to produce, trade and access food. In most armed conflicts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, conflict actors have used food as a weapon of war and deliberately destroyed food systems, with lasting food insecurity as a principal legacy of war. Moreover, food insecurity may create grievances that can escalate into instability and violent conflict, acting as a channel for individuals or groups to express broader socio-economic and political grievances. Simply put, without a resolution to food insecurity, it will be difficult to build sustainable peace, and without peace, the likelihood of ending global hunger is minimal. The increases in both acute food insecurity and violent conflict demand urgent and decisive action. The objectives of this three-part policy paper series are to emphasize the urgency of addressing the relationship between conflict and food insecurity and to point out existing opportunities to do so. This initial paper aims, firstly, to inform policymakers of the intricate relationships between food security and violent conflict. Secondly, it aims to alert policymakers to the potential ability of sustainable and equitable food systems to contribute to peace, and then highlights the action required to enhance this potential. The paper is divided into the following four chapters: The interconnectedness of food systems and food security; The impacts of violent conflict on food systems and food security; Food insecurity as a trigger of violent conflict; Food systems’ potential to reduce violent conflict and enhance peace. This paper ends with four policy recommendations. These are intended to help guide more effective preventative and mitigating actions to limit (and ultimately avoid) the long-term adverse consequences of violent conflict for food security and exploit food security’s potential to foster peace.