The real causes of civil wars

Gabriela Montell

A glance at the May/June issue of Foreign Policy: The real causes of civil wars

Income disparities and ethnic-religious rivalries are often cited as causes for civil wars, but they are rarely to blame for the conflicts, writes Paul Collier, director of the World Bank's development research group. In fact, "ethnic and religious diversity actually reduces the risk of civil conflict," he says, except in countries like Sri Lanka and Rwanda, where "the largest ethnic group