Competition over land and its resources is at the center of the nexus between land and conflict. Land is the object of competition in a number of potentially overlapping ways: as an economic asset, as a connection with identity and social legitimacy, and as political territory. Failure to address these bedrock issues may increase the likelihood of conflict and perpetuate poverty. Understanding the role land plays in the conflicts of so many nations can help policymakers develop strategies to ease tensions among groups, limit conflict, and potentially avoid violence and the poverty trap that comes from cyclical violence (Collier et al., 2003). Disputes over access to land and valuable mineral resources drove wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and the nearly 25-year war in Sri Lanka was fought over geographic claims to an ethnic homeland for the country’s minority population. Ongoing communal violence in Nigeria and Sudan is tied to competition over scarce fertile land and poor resource governance. Land-related issues figure into many violent disputes around the world. Land so pervasively underpins human activity that it usually plays some role during war and civil violence.
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