Need, Creed and Greed in Intrastate Conflict

Abstract

NeedConflictGreed have to be a Marxist or an economist to recognize that all conflicts are about resources. But one does not have to be a pastor or a psychologist to also recognize that all conflicts are about Identity. Nor does one have to be a humanist or a political scientist to see that all conflicts are about basic needs. Thus to claim that conflicts are matters of greed, or rights, or Grievances is profoundly uninteresting. If the claim is exclusionary, it is simply wrong; if the claim is contributory, it is banal. The interesting questions are how these factors relate to each other in causing and sustaining Conflict, and how, not whether, Conflict is related to these three factors. Are they sequential or phasal, or always concomitant, and under what conditions? These questions are important not only for the analytical understanding of the nature of Conflict but also for devising appropriate policies to reduce Conflict. This inquiry, then, seeks to balance the table of analysis toward a better reflection of reality in the understanding of the etiology of violent intrastate Conflict. Beyond its substantive findings are some deeper questions of social science methodology, epistemology, and ontology.