Globalization and Internal Conflicts: A Statistical Analysis of the Effects of Economic, Social, and Political Globalization on Different Forms of Internal Conflict

Abstract

Globalization is one of the most significant developments in the world today. At the same time that globalization is integrating the world, violent conflicts are to an increasing degree internal affairs, rather than international. Most of the previous research on the subject is concerned with economic globalization and civil war, but there is more to both globalization and internal conflict. I attempt to shed light on the relationship between the two using a broad, three-part definition of globalization and data on different forms of violent internal conflict. Through a statistical analysis I find that a high level of social globalization is related to higher levels of internal peace, and that certain features of economic globalization is related to lower risk of riots, but dangerous when implemented in sudden shocks. Political globalization, on the other hand, does not appear to matter much to the risk of internal conflict. Regardless of the effect of a higher level, I expected the process of globalization to be dangerous. Slow change is not particularly influential, but there is some indication that rapid increases in level of economic globalization are connected with a greater risk of both riots and guerrilla war.