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Youth bulge and civil war: Why a country’s share of young adults explains only non-ethnic wars

Author

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  • Omer Yair

    (Department of Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

  • Dan Miodownik

    (Departments of Political Science and International Relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

Abstract

Scholars agree that young men carry out most acts of political violence. Still, there is no consensus on the link between relatively large youth cohorts and the onset of violent, armed intra-state conflicts. In this paper, we examine the effect of youth bulge, a measure of the relative abundance of youth in a country, on the onset of two different types of civil wars—ethnic and non-ethnic wars. Building on and extending three datasets used by other scholars, we theoretically argue and empirically substantiate that, as a result of the negative effects of youth bulge on the economic conditions of the youth cohorts in the country, youth bulge affects the onset of non-ethnic wars, but not the onset of ethnic wars. Possible implications and directions for further research are then suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Omer Yair & Dan Miodownik, 2016. "Youth bulge and civil war: Why a country’s share of young adults explains only non-ethnic wars," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 33(1), pages 25-44, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:compsc:v:33:y:2016:i:1:p:25-44
    DOI: 10.1177/0738894214544613
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Daniil Romanov & Andrey Korotayev, 2019. "«Non-Violent, But Still Dangerous»: Testing The Link Between Youth Bulges And The Intensity Of Non-Violent Protests," HSE Working papers WP BRP 69/PS/2019, National Research University Higher School of Economics.

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