Three strands of explanations on root causes of civil war in low-income and weak states in sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for education

This paper is a theoretical exploration of the relationship between schooling and the root causes of contemporary conflicts in low-income and weak states in sub-Saharan Africa. It does so by exploring three predominant theoretical strands on contemporary intrastate conflict and their implications to education: (1) the 'grievance' explanation; (2) an alternative economic explanation, focusing on the idea of the 'opportunity cost of rebellion'; and (3) a political explanation that shows the role of the ruling elites and the state. The article suggests some theoretical and conceptual insights on examining the ways in which education fuels into the root causes of conflict in low-income and weak states.