Do Economic Inequalities Generate Political Conflict? An Insight into Civil War and Niger Delta Crisis in Nigeria

Abstract

The outbreak of political conflicts within countries has been a source of immense human suffering. The serious repercussions and challenges posed by these conflicts direct one to identify the factors that can be political or economic in nature for the outbreak of these domestic conflicts. The present study, without undermining the role of political factors, nevertheless considers economic factors in terms of inequality as significant for the outbreak of conflicts and particularly in understanding the Civil War and Niger Delta Crisis in the context of countries like Nigeria.