Educational Access and Peace Duration in Post-Conflict Countries

Does increased access to education after the end of a civil war reduce or increase the risk of the resumption of civil war? As several scholars have argued, increased access to education is linked with the promotion of civil society, reduces economic inequality, and improves the livelihood of the population (Walter 2004). Moreover, by promoting education, the government signals to the population that it is concerned with the citizens of the country (Thyne 2006 Thyne, Clayton L. 2006. ABC's, 123's and the Golden Rule: The Pacifying Effect of Education on Civil War, 1980–1999. International Studies Quarterly, 50(4): 733–754. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Further, the opportunity for education increases the opportunity costs for rebels to fight the government, hence reducing the likelihood that former rebels will reinitiate a conflict (Collier and Hoeffler 2004 Collier, Paul and Hoeffler, Anke. 2001. Greed and Grievance in Civil War. Oxford Economic Papers, 56(4): 563–595. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Walter 2002). On the other hand, others have pointed out that education may contribute to conflict particularly if employment opportunities do not keep pace with educational attainment (Buckland 2005 Buckland, Peter. 2005. Reshaping the Future: Education and Postconflict Reconstruction, Washington, D.C: The World Bank. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Degu 2005 Degu, Wondem Asres. 2005. “Reforming Education”. In Postconflict Development: Meeting New Challenges, Edited by: Junne, Gerd and Verkorens, Willemijn. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. [Google Scholar]). Despite the claims of a theoretical linkage between access to education and peace duration, most empirical studies have examined the effects of civil war on education (Buckland 2005 Buckland, Peter. 2005. Reshaping the Future: Education and Postconflict Reconstruction, Washington, D.C: The World Bank. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Lai and Thyne 2007 Thyne, Clayton L. 2006. ABC's, 123's and the Golden Rule: The Pacifying Effect of Education on Civil War, 1980–1999. International Studies Quarterly, 50(4): 733–754. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) as opposed to the effects of educational access on the recurrence of civil conflict or have focused largely on individual cases. In this article, using a stratified proportional hazard analysis, we empirically examine the relationship between increased education enrollments and the likelihood of civil war recurrence from 1990–2008.