Violence in Developing Countries: War, Memory, Progress

Why is there so much violence in the developing countries? What does it have to do with economic development? What does it have to do with globalization? Christopher Cramer takes a hard look at war, recent uprisings, insurgencies, and violence in Angola, Brazil, and Iraq. Cramer explains the financing of wars and compares post-conflict reconstruction efforts. He takes special issue with common perspectives on violence, which deny that war has any positive effects and believe that peace can be easily achieved through democratization and free trade. Cramer identifies common fallacies and shows that modern (Western) liberal democracies haven't outgrown violence, and don't only resort to it in self-defense. Providing a far more practical assessment, Cramer boldly argues that violent conflict has led to radical and positive reshaping of social relationships and provoked favorable social change. Violence in Developing Countries forges an alternative understanding of how violence shapes a globalizing society.

Christopher Cramer is Professor in Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.