Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Date of Graduation
Spring 2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Department
Department of Economics
Advisor(s)
Barkley Rosser
Abstract
Peace and economic development are often regarded as separate fields with little overlap. The association with the field of economics makes the latter seem more measurable, more tangible, and therefore more academic. However, a shift is taking place as peace practitioners and researchers discover ways to compare the level of peace within and between countries. Current research in peace studies shows a salient link between the level of economic development and the level of peace within societies. Researchers that work in these two fields must pursue them simultaneously and jointly. The purpose of this paper is to highlight evidence of this phenomenon and to provide an example of practitioners acting accordingly.
Section I defines peace (both negative and positive) and discusses in detail Anderson’s suggested methodology for measuring it. Section II summarizes the leading indices by the Institute for Economics and Peace that provide measurements of peace. Section III analyzes the cost of violence and therefore its impact on the ability of a community or country to develop. Section IV defines and applies the concept of systems thinking to economic development and peace building work. Finally, section V is a case study of the work combining both peace building and economic development done by the non-profit the Bagyéli’s Cultural and Development Association (BACUDA) in and near Kribi, Cameroon.
Recommended Citation
Fisher, Allison, "Economic development and peace: To be pursued in tandem" (2019). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 634.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/634
