ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the literature on natural disasters and armed conflicts since the 1990s. It outlines and reviews three main trends in existing research extracted from the main political science journals and books. The first trend argues that disasters generate frustration and scarcity of important resources, thus increasing the likelihood of outbreaks of armed violence. By contrast, a second trend claims that the likelihood of armed conflict and antisocial behaviors tend to drop during and after disasters. Finally, the last trend is somehow fitting between these two extremes arguing that natural disasters do not have much effect on conflict dynamics, as economic and political variables remain the most important predictors of armed conflict. This chapter concludes by suggesting several avenues for future research, highlighting the need to pay special attention to countries already affected by armed violence.
