أسوأ من الحرب: التكاليف العالمية للعنف

Civil wars, interstate wars, and terrorism receive significant media and political attention, and for good reasons. In contrast, major forms of interpersonal violence - such as murder, domestic violence and severe corporal punishment of children - receive much less attention. In Worse Than War, Anke Hoefler and James Fearon collect and analyze data on the global prevalence and costs of mass and personal violence. They show that interpersonal violence is much more widespread and has greater costs for society than group violence. Wars tend to be concentrated in a few countries, often in relatively small areas within them. In contrast, almost all countries record rates of non-fatal homicide and attacks, especially against women and children, that far exceed the global average for death and injury rates in war and terrorism. Hoefler and Fearon stress that high rates of interpersonal violence are not unique to culture or other structural factors. Evidence from numerous program evaluations, natural experiments, and long-term social movements clearly indicates that, if effectively targeted, rates of homicide, domestic violence, and severe corporal punishment of children can be reduced. Interventions that promote peace in countries torn by civil war are possible, but opportunities are increasingly few and far between. Drawing on ideas and methods from many fields—economics, political science, public health, psychology, sociology, and others—the authors show that money and policy efforts directed toward reducing interpersonal violence therefore deserve higher priority within countries and by international donors.