War, conflict and development | AQA A-Level Sociology
Updated: 5 days ago
For Specification 7192
AQA A-Level Sociology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 75 minutes
War, conflict and development A-Level Sociology revision examines the two-way relationship between development and conflict. AQA specifically requires students to understand development in relation to war and conflict, and the specimen assessment directly tests whether conflict in poor countries can be explained by a lack of development. This lesson builds on development and underdevelopment [Development and underdevelopment] and global inequality [Global inequality], while showing how poverty, inequality, resources and global power can become connected to conflict.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Explain the two-way relationship between war, conflict and development.
Explain how poverty and inequality may contribute to conflict.
Examine alternative explanations involving resources, ethnic conflict and global relationships.
Apply modernisation, dependency and post-development perspectives to conflict.
Explain how conflict may further restrict development.
Evaluate whether lack of development provides a sufficient explanation for conflict in poorer societies.
Revision Notes 📚
War, conflict and development A-Level Sociology revision: the core relationship
The AQA specification explicitly includes development in relation to war and conflict within Global Development.
AQA's specimen assessment presents the relationship as potentially operating in both directions.
The item states that:
a lack of development may produce frustration and desperation
this may contribute to conflict
conflict can then further restrict development
This means war and conflict should not be studied simply as consequences of underdevelopment.
They may be both:
a possible outcome of underdevelopment
a possible cause of further underdevelopment
A useful starting model is therefore:
lack of development → poverty and inequality → frustration and desperation → conflict → development further restricted
The sociological debate concerns whether this provides the best explanation or whether other factors are more important.
Conflict and development can form a cycle
AQA's specimen item gives students a particularly important idea:
Conflict may arise in conditions of limited development, while conflict itself may further limit development.
This creates the possibility of a self-reinforcing cycle.
For example:
underdevelopment → social and economic problems → conflict → greater difficulties achieving development → continued underdevelopment
This is more sophisticated than treating conflict as a completely separate event.
It also connects directly with earlier study of global inequality [Global inequality].
What does AQA expect students to consider?
The specimen mark scheme provides unusually clear guidance about the concepts that may be relevant to war, conflict and development.
It identifies:
poverty
inequality
civil conflict
resource curse
neo-colonialism
colonialism
dependency
global arms trade
globalisation
ethnic conflicts
The top level of the mark scheme also suggests that evaluation may be developed by comparing perspectives including:
modernisation theory
dependency theory
post-development theory
These concepts provide the main boundaries for this lesson.
Lack of development as an explanation of conflict
The specimen question asks students to evaluate the argument that conflict in poor countries results from a lack of development.
The argument begins from the idea that limited development may involve:
poverty
inequality
Both are explicitly included in the mark scheme.
The item then links these conditions with frustration and desperation.
The possible causal chain is:
limited development → poverty or inequality → frustration and desperation → increased potential for conflict
AQA's level descriptors specifically identify an account of how poverty encourages conflict as relevant knowledge.
Poverty and conflict
Poverty refers to a lack of sufficient economic and material resources.
Within the AQA specimen question, poverty may be used to support the claim that a lack of development contributes to conflict.
The basic reasoning is:
poverty → severe unmet needs and limited opportunities → frustration or desperation → conflict becomes more likely
The important exam skill is explaining the connection.
A weak answer would state:
"Poor countries have conflict because they are poor."
That is circular.
A stronger answer explains the social process connecting limited resources to conflict.
Poverty is not automatically a cause of conflict
The word may is important.
The specimen question asks students to evaluate the claim that conflict is caused by lack of development.
This means poverty cannot simply be assumed to cause conflict in every case.
The presence of poverty may be relevant, but sociologists can also examine:
inequality
resources
colonial and neo-colonial relationships
ethnic conflict
the arms trade
globalisation
AQA explicitly includes all of these within the indicative content.
A strong answer therefore avoids a single-cause explanation.
Inequality and conflict
Inequality is another concept explicitly recognised in the specimen mark scheme.
Poverty and inequality are related but not identical.
Poverty concerns insufficient resources.
Inequality concerns differences in the distribution of resources, opportunities or power.
A society might therefore experience conflict not simply because resources are scarce, but because resources or opportunities are distributed unequally.
The possible analytical chain is:
inequality → groups experience unequal access to resources or opportunities → resentment or conflict between groups
This connects the topic directly to global inequality [Global inequality].
Absolute poverty versus unequal distribution
This distinction can strengthen evaluation.
One explanation may focus on:
"There is not enough development."
Another may focus on:
"The benefits and resources that do exist are distributed unequally."
These are different sociological explanations.
The second interpretation suggests that increasing national economic growth alone may not remove the conditions associated with conflict if substantial inequalities remain.
This reflects the broader AQA debate about whether economic measures alone provide a satisfactory understanding of development.
Civil conflict
Civil conflict is explicitly listed in AQA's specimen mark scheme.
Civil conflict refers to conflict taking place primarily within a society rather than simply between separate countries.
This concept is important because the specification refers broadly to war and conflict, not just wars between nation states.
AQA's specimen example focuses on long-running conflict within the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Democratic Republic of Congo example
The specimen item uses the Democratic Republic of Congo to illustrate the potentially long-lasting nature of conflict.
The item states that the conflict had lasted for at least 20 years and had claimed millions of lives.
The point of the example is not to memorise an isolated statistic.
Its sociological significance is that prolonged conflict can become part of the development process itself:
limited development → conflict → prolonged conflict → further limits to development
In an exam, examples should illustrate the theory rather than replace it.
Conflict as a cause of underdevelopment
The specimen item does not only suggest that underdevelopment may cause conflict.
It explicitly states that:
Conflict in turn further limits development.
This is essential.
A student who only explains the causes of conflict would therefore miss half of the relationship in this lesson.
War and conflict can be analysed as processes that make development more difficult.
How to assess the impact of conflict on development
The AQA specification identifies several areas as aspects of development, including:
employment
education
health
demographic change
gender
Therefore, when analysing the statement that conflict limits development, students can ask whether conflict restricts progress in these dimensions.
This provides a useful framework:
Aspect of development | Question to ask when analysing conflict |
Economic development | Does conflict make economic growth and productive activity more difficult? |
Employment | Does conflict restrict people's ability to gain or maintain employment? |
Education | Does conflict interfere with educational development? |
Health | Does conflict make improvements in health more difficult? |
Demographic change | How might a prolonged conflict affect the population? |
Gender | Are different groups affected differently by conflict and development? |
These questions allow you to connect this lesson with later content without treating conflict as a completely isolated issue.
Conflict and economic development
The core AQA claim is that conflict can further limit development.
Economic development therefore provides one dimension through which its impact can be evaluated.
Earlier lessons have shown that AQA associates development with:
trade
industrialisation
employment
economic growth
Conflict can therefore be analysed by asking whether these processes become harder to achieve or sustain.
This creates a useful link back to trade and industrialisation [Trade and industrialisation].
Conflict and wider development
AQA does not define development only in economic terms.
Its later lesson sequence requires students to examine:
employment and education [Employment and education]
health and demographic change [Health and demographic change]
as aspects of development.
Therefore, an essay about conflict can be strengthened by recognising that "limiting development" means more than reducing national income.
A conflict that restricts improvements in people's health, education or economic opportunities may also be limiting development.
Conflict can reproduce poverty
The specimen item suggests a circular relationship.
If:
poverty contributes to conflict
and:
conflict limits development
then conflict can potentially help reproduce the conditions that contributed to it.
The cycle becomes:
poverty → frustration/desperation → conflict → development restricted → poverty persists
This is a particularly strong analytical chain because it explains why some conflicts may become difficult to escape.
Conflict can reproduce inequality
The same reasoning can be applied to inequality.
If inequalities contribute to tensions between groups, and conflict makes successful development more difficult, the inequalities may continue.
The cycle might therefore become:
inequality → social tension → conflict → development restricted → inequality remains
This helps connect war and conflict with the broader AQA theme of social differentiation and power.
Conflict may have more than one cause
One of the most important evaluation points is that the specimen question asks whether conflict is caused by a lack of development.
The mark scheme explicitly says stronger responses may discuss alternative explanations for conflict in poor countries.
Therefore, a high-level answer needs to consider whether:
poverty matters
inequality matters
resources matter
ethnicity matters
historical global relationships matter
contemporary global relationships matter
A monocausal answer is unlikely to be convincing.
The resource curse
Resource curse is specifically listed in the specimen mark scheme.
The concept challenges the assumption that conflict simply results from a lack of economic resources.
A resource-curse explanation examines the possibility that the existence and control of valuable resources may itself become connected to conflict.
The important evaluative point is:
Conflict may arise not simply because a society has too few resources, but because control of valuable resources becomes contested.
This provides a direct challenge to a simple "poverty causes war" argument.
Resource curse and development
Natural resources might appear to provide opportunities for economic development.
However, the inclusion of the resource curse in the AQA mark scheme shows that students can consider a different relationship.
Instead of:
valuable resources → economic development
the possibility becomes:
valuable resources → competition over control → conflict → development restricted
The presence of resources does not therefore guarantee development.
Resources and inequality
The resource-curse argument can also be connected to inequality.
If the benefits associated with valuable resources are distributed unequally, tensions between groups may become more significant.
This produces a more complex explanation than lack of development alone.
The issue becomes:
what resources exist, who controls them and how their benefits are distributed
rather than simply:
how poor is the country?
Resource explanations and dependency
Resource conflict can also be linked to dependency theory.
Dependency approaches emphasise unequal relationships within the global economy.
Where resources are connected to wider global economic interests, conflict may need to be understood through relationships that extend beyond the country itself.
AQA's inclusion of:
resource curse
dependency
neo-colonialism
globalisation
within the same indicative list encourages this type of interconnected analysis.
Ethnic conflicts
Ethnic conflicts are another explicit element of the specimen mark scheme.
This provides another challenge to the argument that conflict is caused simply by a lack of development.
Conflict may involve divisions or tensions between ethnic groups.
This raises an important evaluative question:
Is economic underdevelopment the underlying cause of the conflict, or are ethnic divisions more important?
A sophisticated answer may argue that these explanations can interact rather than being mutually exclusive.
Economic inequality and ethnic conflict
For example, ethnicity and development may become connected if different groups experience unequal access to:
resources
opportunities
economic benefits
In that case, it would be too simple to classify the conflict as either:
purely economic
or purely ethnic
The sociological task is to explain how different forms of inequality and identity may interact.
Avoid treating ethnicity as an automatic cause
An equally important mistake would be to say:
"Ethnic differences cause conflict."
The existence of different ethnic groups does not itself explain why conflict develops.
A stronger answer asks:
What inequalities exist?
What resources or power are involved?
How do historical and global relationships affect those divisions?
This produces an explanation rather than simply identifying a social difference.
Colonialism
Colonialism is explicitly identified by AQA as relevant to the conflict and development debate.
Colonialism is also a central concept in dependency explanations of underdevelopment.
Applied to war and conflict, the important point is that contemporary conflict may need to be understood partly through historical relationships of power, rather than solely through present-day levels of economic development.
This connects directly with development and underdevelopment [Development and underdevelopment].
Neo-colonialism
Neo-colonialism is also explicitly included in the specimen indicative content.
The concept refers to continuing forms of external power or influence after formal colonial control has ended.
Applied to conflict, it provides a way of questioning the idea that poor countries should be analysed as isolated societies whose problems are entirely internal.
Instead, sociologists may examine contemporary relationships with more powerful societies and organisations.
Colonialism and dependency theory
Dependency theory argues that development and underdevelopment are connected through unequal global relationships.
The inclusion of:
colonialism
neo-colonialism
dependency
in the AQA war and conflict mark scheme supports a structural explanation.
A dependency argument may therefore challenge the claim:
poor society → lack of development → conflict
by replacing it with a broader model:
historical and global inequalities → underdevelopment and unequal power → conditions associated with conflict
Dependency theory
Dependency theory is one of the perspectives AQA specifically suggests for evaluating the specimen conflict question.
Dependency theory shifts attention away from explanations based entirely on characteristics within poorer societies.
Instead, it asks how development and underdevelopment are shaped by unequal relationships with more powerful parts of the global system.
Applied to conflict, relevant AQA concepts include:
colonialism
neo-colonialism
resources
globalisation
the global arms trade
Dependency theory and conflict
A dependency interpretation may argue that the relationship between underdevelopment and conflict cannot be understood without examining global power.
The argument can be expressed as:
unequal global relationships → underdevelopment and unequal control of resources → tensions or conflict
This differs from a simple modernisation approach because the source of the problem is not located only within the poorer country.
Strength of dependency explanations
A major strength is that dependency theory allows students to connect conflict with:
historical power
contemporary external influence
global economic relationships
These concepts are directly recognised in AQA's indicative content.
This provides a broader explanation than simply stating that poor people become frustrated.
Limitation of dependency explanations
However, dependency theory should not become another single-cause explanation.
The same mark scheme also recognises:
ethnic conflicts
poverty
inequality
resource curse
This suggests that explanations operating within societies can also be relevant.
A balanced judgement is more likely to recognise interactions between internal and global factors.
Modernisation theory
Modernisation theory is another perspective AQA explicitly identifies for evaluating the relationship between lack of development and conflict.
A modernisation interpretation places greater emphasis on the problems associated with limited economic and social development.
Applied to the specimen item, this can support the argument that:
lack of development → poverty and limited opportunities → frustration and desperation → conflict
However, AQA does not prescribe one fixed modernisation explanation of every conflict.
The theory should therefore be used to interpret the development relationship rather than presented as a memorised general account.
Modernisation and the conflict cycle
From a modernisation perspective, conflict may also become a barrier to the transformations associated with development.
If conflict further restricts development, it may make it more difficult for societies to achieve the economic and social changes modernisation theorists regard as important.
The cycle can therefore be presented as:
underdevelopment → conflict → modernisation restricted → underdevelopment continues
This follows directly from the two-way relationship in the specimen item.
Evaluating modernisation theory
Modernisation explanations can be criticised for placing too much responsibility for conflict on conditions inside poorer societies.
Dependency theory instead directs attention towards:
colonialism
neo-colonialism
globalisation
global arms trade
all of which AQA identifies as relevant.
Modernisation may therefore identify a genuine relationship between poverty and conflict while providing an incomplete account of why those conditions exist.
Post-development theory
AQA's specimen mark scheme also explicitly suggests post-development theory as a perspective that may be used to evaluate the question.
Post-development perspectives question conventional assumptions about what counts as development.
Applied to this topic, they can challenge the idea that poor societies should simply be understood according to how far they have progressed towards a model based on already developed societies.
Post-development and conflict
A post-development approach can therefore question the language of:
"conflict happens because these societies lack development."
The criticism is that this may reduce complicated historical, political and social conflicts to the claim that a society is insufficiently developed.
Instead, more attention may need to be given to:
power
local circumstances
historical relationships
competing ideas about development
This provides another challenge to a universal modernisation explanation.
Evaluating post-development
A strength of post-development is that it questions whether a single model of development can explain every society.
However, poverty and inequality are explicitly recognised by AQA as relevant to conflict.
It would therefore be equally simplistic to ignore material deprivation merely because conventional definitions of development can be criticised.
A balanced answer can recognise that:
definitions of development are contested
but poverty and inequality may still have real social consequences.
The global arms trade
Global arms trade is explicitly identified in the AQA specimen mark scheme.
Its inclusion is important because it shows that conflict can have an international dimension.
A conflict taking place within a poorer society need not be explained entirely by conditions inside that society.
The global movement and availability of weapons can be considered as part of the wider context in which conflicts develop or continue.
The arms trade as an alternative explanation
The global arms trade can therefore be used to challenge a simple lack-of-development explanation.
Instead of:
poverty alone → conflict
a wider analysis might consider:
internal tensions + access to weapons through global relationships → conflict
The exact importance of each factor needs to be evaluated rather than assumed.
Arms, globalisation and power
The arms trade also links this lesson to globalisation, political and economic relationships [Globalisation, political and economic relationships].
Globalisation means societies are increasingly connected.
AQA's inclusion of both globalisation and global arms trade within the conflict mark scheme signals that conflict itself can be influenced by relationships that cross national borders.
This makes war and conflict a global-development issue rather than simply a domestic political problem.
Globalisation and conflict
Globalisation is explicitly included in the specimen mark scheme.
This allows students to examine how conflict relates to wider:
political relationships
economic relationships
global structures of power
It also provides another reason not to treat individual societies as isolated units.
A conflict may have local causes while also being shaped by wider global relationships.
Internal versus external explanations
One useful way to organise the topic is to distinguish between explanations focusing primarily on internal and external conditions.
Internal factors | External or global factors |
Poverty | Colonialism |
Inequality | Neo-colonialism |
Ethnic conflict | Dependency |
Civil conflict | Global arms trade |
Competition over resources | Globalisation |
The distinction is useful, but the factors may interact.
For example, inequality within a society may have historical connections with colonial or global economic relationships.
Do not force every explanation into one side
The resource curse demonstrates why this internal/external distinction is not perfect.
Resources are located within a society, but their value may depend on global economic relationships.
Similarly, ethnic conflicts may involve internal group divisions but may also be shaped by broader historical circumstances.
A strong sociological explanation therefore examines relationships between factors, not just separate lists.
Conflict as an economic problem
The specimen item says that conflict further limits development.
Economic development is one dimension of this.
A conflict may be analysed in terms of whether it makes it harder for a society to develop through:
trade
industrialisation
employment
These are all specification areas already studied.
This links directly back to:
trade and industrialisation [Trade and industrialisation]
globalisation, political and economic relationships [Globalisation, political and economic relationships]
Conflict as a social-development problem
Development also involves social outcomes.
The AQA specification identifies:
education
health
demographic change
gender
as aspects of development.
Therefore, conflict can be evaluated by examining whether it prevents improvement in these areas.
This allows students to demonstrate a broad understanding of development rather than treating it purely as economic growth.
War, conflict and employment
Employment is the focus of the next lesson.
Within this topic, it can be used as one indicator of whether conflict is restricting development.
Ask:
Does prolonged conflict make it harder for people to gain stable economic opportunities?
This keeps the analysis within the AQA specification and connects directly to employment and education [Employment and education].
War, conflict and education
Education is also explicitly an aspect of development.
When evaluating the consequences of conflict, students can therefore consider whether educational development becomes more difficult.
The key examination point is not to write a separate essay about education.
Instead:
conflict → consequences for education → consequences for development
The final connection must always return to development.
War, conflict and health
Health is another AQA aspect of development.
The specimen example also emphasises the enormous human consequences of prolonged conflict through its reference to millions of lives being lost in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This reminds students that the effects of conflict cannot be measured only through economic growth.
Development can also be judged through people's health and well-being.
War, conflict and demographic change
The loss of life in the specimen example also links conflict to the demographic dimension of development.
AQA requires demographic change to be studied as an aspect of development.
This creates another route for analysis:
prolonged conflict → population consequences → wider effects on development
The detailed study of demographic processes belongs to health and demographic change [Health and demographic change].
Development may reduce conflict
The specimen question primarily examines whether a lack of development contributes to conflict.
The reverse implication is that successful development might reduce some of the conditions associated with conflict.
For example, if development reduces:
poverty
inequality
then the frustration and desperation identified in the item may also be reduced.
However, this does not mean development automatically produces peace.
Other sources of conflict identified in the mark scheme may remain.
Economic development without equality
Imagine that a society experiences economic growth but substantial inequality continues.
If inequality contributes to conflict, then increased national wealth may not remove the problem.
This reinforces an important idea from global inequality [Global inequality]:
The distribution of development can matter as much as the total amount of economic growth.
This gives students a strong way to evaluate modernisation approaches.
Resource wealth without development
The resource curse produces the opposite problem.
A society may possess economically valuable resources while conflict prevents those resources from translating straightforwardly into wider development.
This gives another useful distinction:
having resources ≠ successful development
just as:
economic growth ≠ equal development
Poverty as cause and consequence
One of the strongest ways to analyse the topic is to distinguish cause and consequence.
Poverty may be:
a possible cause of conflict
a possible consequence of conflict if development is further restricted
The relationship can therefore become circular.
AQA's specimen item is deliberately constructed around this two-way process.
Inequality as cause and consequence
The same logic can be applied to inequality.
Where inequalities contribute to conflict, prolonged conflict may make it harder to achieve development that reduces those inequalities.
Therefore, the relationship may operate as a cycle rather than a straight line.
This is a useful evaluative point because it makes simple statements about "the cause" of conflict less convincing.
Correlation is not the same as explanation
The specimen question concerns conflicts in poor countries.
However, the fact that poverty and conflict occur together does not by itself prove that poverty causes conflict.
Students need to explain the mechanism.
For example:
poverty → frustration/desperation → conflict
is an explanation because it identifies intermediate social processes.
Students can then evaluate whether other mechanisms provide a stronger account.
Avoid reversing the causal direction
Because conflict itself may restrict development, the relationship between poverty and conflict can be difficult to interpret.
If a country experiencing conflict is poor, two explanations are possible:
poverty contributed to the conflict
or:
the conflict contributed to continuing poverty
The AQA item explicitly supports both directions.
A sophisticated answer recognises this issue rather than assuming the direction of causation.
Long-running conflict and development traps
The Democratic Republic of Congo example in the specimen item illustrates the importance of duration.
A conflict lasting for many years may become part of a cycle in which successful development becomes increasingly difficult.
The item's reasoning is:
lack of development → conflict → prolonged conflict → development further restricted
This provides a useful example of why war and development should be studied as interconnected processes.
Conflict and aid
Where conflict restricts development, outside assistance may become relevant.
This links the topic back to aid and development [Aid and development].
However, the conflict mark scheme does not prescribe one particular role for aid.
Students should therefore avoid turning a war and conflict essay into a generic aid essay unless aid is directly relevant to the argument being developed.
Conflict and international agencies
Similarly, conflict may take place within a wider global context involving political and economic relationships.
This links conceptually with international agencies [International agencies].
But again, the key examination rule is focus.
Mentioning international organisations only gains value if it helps explain:
the causes of conflict
the consequences for development
the global relationships involved
A modernisation interpretation summarised
A modernisation-based answer may emphasise:
lack of development
poverty
limited economic opportunities
frustration and desperation
conflict as a barrier to further development
Its central strength is that it takes seriously the relationship between material conditions and social stability.
Its central limitation is that it may place too much emphasis on internal underdevelopment.
A dependency interpretation summarised
A dependency-based answer may emphasise:
colonialism
neo-colonialism
unequal global relationships
control of resources
globalisation
global arms trade
Its strength is that it places conflict within a wider system of power.
Its limitation is that not every aspect of conflict can necessarily be reduced to external relationships.
A post-development interpretation summarised
A post-development answer may question whether:
lack of Western-style development should be treated as the fundamental problem
all societies should be judged against the same development model
Its strength is that it challenges simplistic assumptions about "poor" societies.
Its limitation is that poverty and inequality may still have important consequences and cannot simply be dismissed as products of a particular definition of development.
Alternative explanations do not necessarily replace development explanations
A strong evaluation recognises that several factors may interact.
For example:
poverty may intensify resentment
inequality may shape tensions between groups
ethnic divisions may provide a basis for conflict
resources may become contested
global arms relationships may affect the ability to sustain conflict
This produces a multicausal explanation.
The strongest conclusion is therefore unlikely to argue that one factor explains every conflict.
Comparing sociological explanations
Explanation | Why conflict may occur | Evaluation |
Lack of development | Poverty and limited opportunities may create frustration and desperation. | Does not explain why many poor societies or groups do not experience the same level of conflict. |
Inequality | Unequal distribution of resources or opportunities may generate tension. | Economic growth alone may not remove conflict if inequality remains. |
Resource curse | Competition over valuable resources may become connected to conflict. | Challenges the assumption that conflict simply results from having too few resources. |
Dependency theory | Colonial, neo-colonial and global relationships may reproduce underdevelopment and conflict. | Highlights global power but may understate internal factors. |
Ethnic conflict | Divisions between ethnic groups may become important sources of conflict. | Ethnic difference alone does not explain why conflict develops. |
Global arms trade | Conflict may be shaped by international access to weapons and wider global relationships. | Shows that supposedly internal conflict can have external dimensions. |
Post-development | Questions whether "lack of development" is itself an adequate explanation. | Must still account for the real effects of poverty and inequality. |
AQA's conflict question is fundamentally evaluative
The specimen question is a 20-mark evaluation question, not a simple request to list causes of war.
The highest mark band expects:
conceptually detailed knowledge
accurate application of the item
explicit analysis
explicit evaluation
an appropriate conclusion
AQA specifically suggests evaluation through the debate between different perspectives on development.
How to structure the specimen-style debate
A useful structure is:
Argument 1: lack of development
Explain how poverty may produce frustration and desperation.
Evaluation
Question whether poverty alone explains conflict.
Argument 2: inequality
Explain why distribution of resources may matter more than overall national wealth.
Evaluation
Consider whether inequality itself has historical or global causes.
Argument 3: dependency and global power
Use colonialism, neo-colonialism, globalisation or the global arms trade.
Evaluation
Recognise that internal factors such as ethnic divisions may also matter.
Argument 4: resource curse
Explain why resource wealth can sometimes become connected to conflict.
Conclusion
Judge whether lack of development is a major cause, one contributing condition, or an insufficient explanation on its own.
Keeping the direction of the question clear
A question might ask:
Why does underdevelopment cause conflict?
or:
How does conflict affect development?
or:
Evaluate the relationship between conflict and development.
These require different emphases.
Do not answer all three in exactly the same way.
If the question asks about causes of conflict, keep returning to causes.
If it asks about effects on development, keep returning to development outcomes.
If it asks about the relationship, the two-way cycle becomes especially important.
Building strong analytical chains
For poverty:
lack of development → poverty → frustration and desperation → increased potential for conflict
For inequality:
unequal distribution of resources → resentment between groups → conflict
For resource curse:
valuable resources → competition over control → conflict → development restricted
For dependency:
unequal global relationships → underdevelopment or unequal control of resources → conflict
For global arms trade:
existing social or political tensions → weapons available through global relationships → conflict becomes easier to sustain
For the conflict cycle:
conflict → development further restricted → poverty and inequality persist → conditions associated with further conflict remain
Weak versus strong analysis
Weak:
Poor countries have wars because people are desperate.
Better:
Limited development may create poverty, and the AQA specimen item suggests that poverty can produce frustration and desperation. This may increase the likelihood of conflict where groups believe their needs or opportunities cannot be met.
Stronger:
However, poverty alone is insufficient because AQA also identifies factors such as inequality, resource conflict, ethnic conflict and the global arms trade. Lack of development may therefore create conditions that increase the risk of conflict without being the sole cause.
That final step creates evaluation.
The importance of global relationships
One of the biggest mistakes would be to treat conflict in poorer societies as purely an internal problem.
AQA explicitly includes:
colonialism
neo-colonialism
dependency
global arms trade
globalisation
in the indicative content.
This tells students that conflict should also be analysed through relationships between societies.
This connects directly with globalisation, political and economic relationships [Globalisation, political and economic relationships].
Development is also a question of power
War and conflict demonstrate why development cannot be understood only through income.
Questions of power include:
who controls resources
which groups gain access to opportunities
how inequalities are distributed
how historical global relationships affect present conditions
how international relationships influence conflict
This is why dependency theory is so important to evaluation.
Do not confuse conflict with class conflict
Elsewhere in Sociology, the term conflict can refer broadly to opposing social interests, such as class conflict.
In this Global Development lesson, the specification specifically concerns war and conflict in relation to development.
The specimen mark scheme refers to:
civil conflict
ethnic conflicts
global arms trade
Keep the Global Development context clear.
Development is not a guaranteed route to peace
It would be too simplistic to argue:
"If a country develops, conflict disappears."
The AQA indicative material supports explanations involving:
inequality
ethnic conflict
resources
global power
These factors may not disappear simply because economic output rises.
Successful development may reduce some conditions associated with conflict, but it cannot be assumed to remove every potential cause.
Conflict is not proof of underdevelopment
The reverse claim is also too simple:
"A country has conflict, therefore it must lack development."
The specimen question deliberately requires evaluation.
Conflict may be shaped by a combination of:
poverty
inequality
resource competition
ethnicity
historical relationships
contemporary global relationships
The correct sociological approach is therefore explanatory rather than simply classificatory.
Evidence and explanation
AQA expects students to understand both evidence and sociological explanations within its option topics.
For this lesson, the specimen item itself provides one piece of evidence, the long-running conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, an example is not an explanation.
You still need a theory or concept to explain:
why conflict developed
why it continued
how it affected development
A useful exam framework: cause, continuation, consequence
A very effective way to organise this topic is through three questions.
1. Cause
Why might conflict begin?
Consider:
poverty
inequality
resource curse
ethnic conflicts
colonial or neo-colonial relationships
2. Continuation
Why might conflict persist?
Consider:
the cycle between conflict and underdevelopment
global arms relationships
continuing inequalities
contested resources
3. Consequence
What happens to development?
Return to:
economic development
employment
education
health
demographic change
This framework keeps the whole lesson connected.
Overall sociological judgement
AQA's specimen material clearly supports the argument that limited development may contribute to conflict. Poverty, inequality, frustration and desperation can form part of an explanation, while conflict may then further restrict development and create a damaging cycle.
However, the mark scheme deliberately includes a much wider range of explanations, including resource curse, ethnic conflicts, colonialism, neo-colonialism, dependency, globalisation and the global arms trade.
The strongest judgement is therefore that lack of development may create conditions in which conflict becomes more likely, but it is not a sufficient explanation on its own. Conflict is better understood through interactions between poverty, inequality, resources, social divisions and global power. Equally, the causal relationship runs both ways because prolonged conflict can itself make development more difficult.
Key Words 🔑
Key word | Student-friendly definition | How it may be used in an exam |
War and conflict | Serious organised conflict that can occur within or between societies and affect development. | Introduce the central relationship before analysing causes or consequences. |
Civil conflict | Conflict occurring mainly within a society. | Show that war and conflict are not limited to wars between countries. |
Poverty | Insufficient economic and material resources. | Explain how lack of development may contribute to frustration and conflict. |
Inequality | Unequal distribution of resources, opportunities or power. | Evaluate explanations that focus only on overall national poverty. |
Resource curse | The idea that valuable natural resources may become associated with competition and conflict rather than automatically producing development. | Challenge the assumption that conflict occurs simply because resources are scarce. |
Dependency | Unequal relationships in which poorer societies remain influenced by more powerful external actors. | Explain how global power may contribute to underdevelopment and conflict. |
Neo-colonialism | Continuing external power or influence after formal colonial rule has ended. | Evaluate purely internal explanations of conflict. |
Global arms trade | International economic relationships involving the supply and exchange of weapons. | Explain how global relationships may affect the continuation or intensity of conflict. |
Ethnic conflict | Conflict in which ethnic group divisions are significant. | Provide an alternative or interacting explanation alongside poverty and inequality. |
Post-development | An approach questioning conventional assumptions about what development means and whether one model should be applied to all societies. | Evaluate claims that conflict is simply caused by insufficient development. |
Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡
The AQA specimen mark scheme does, however, give unusually clear guidance about how a war and conflict essay would be assessed.
Examiner hint: Keep the answer focused on the exact claim. The specimen question is about whether lack of development causes conflict, so a generic description of modernisation or dependency theory will not be enough. Each theory needs to explain the conflict relationship.
Examiner hint: Build evaluation through competing explanations. The highest specimen band specifically suggests using perspectives such as modernisation, dependency and post-development to evaluate the claim.
Examiner hint: Do not rely on a single example of war. The specimen mark scheme distinguishes developed sociological knowledge from answers containing only a few points about an example of conflict in a poor country.
Examiner hint: AQA's 2025 report warns against writing everything you know about a term. In this lesson, that means a long generic account of poverty, globalisation or dependency will score poorly unless it is used to explain war, conflict and development.
Examiner hint: The 2025 report states that the most successful evaluation weighs strengths and limitations and reaches a reasoned judgement. Do not finish a paragraph with "however, dependency theory disagrees". Explain why its alternative explanation is more or less convincing.
Examiner hint: AQA also notes that successful students can apply their sociological knowledge to contemporary issues. If you use a conflict example in an exam, make sure the facts are accurate and use the example to demonstrate a sociological argument rather than replacing one.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Assuming poverty automatically causes war
Why this is incorrect: AQA's specimen question requires students to evaluate this claim, and its mark scheme lists numerous alternative factors.
How to improve: Explain the proposed mechanism linking poverty to frustration and conflict, then compare it with inequality, resources, ethnicity and global factors.
Mistake: Treating poverty and inequality as the same concept
Why this is incorrect: Poverty concerns lack of resources, while inequality concerns how resources and opportunities are distributed.
How to improve: Use the distinction to create evaluation. A society may experience economic growth while substantial inequalities remain.
Mistake: Explaining only how underdevelopment causes conflict
Why this is incorrect: The AQA specimen item explicitly states that conflict can further limit development.
How to improve: Remember the two-way relationship:
underdevelopment → conflict → further underdevelopment
Mistake: Assuming conflict is entirely an internal problem
Why this is incorrect: AQA includes colonialism, neo-colonialism, dependency, globalisation and the global arms trade in its indicative content.
How to improve: Consider both internal and global explanations.
Mistake: Saying ethnic differences cause conflict
Why this is incorrect: Simply identifying ethnic diversity does not explain why conflict occurs.
How to improve: Explain the relationship between group divisions and factors such as inequality, power or resources.
Mistake: Misunderstanding the resource curse
Why this is incorrect: The idea does not mean that countries experience conflict because they lack resources.
How to improve: Use it to explain how the control of valuable resources may become a source of competition and conflict.
Mistake: Writing everything you know about dependency theory
Why this is incorrect: Theory that is not applied to conflict will become descriptive and unfocused.
How to improve: Use a clear chain such as:
unequal global relationship → underdevelopment or contested resources → conditions associated with conflict
Mistake: Using the Democratic Republic of Congo example as the whole answer
Why this is incorrect: AQA's lower levels explicitly refer to undeveloped answers based largely on an example of a conflict.
How to improve: State the sociological explanation first, then use the example to illustrate it.
Mistake: Treating modernisation and dependency as completely separate essays
Why this is incorrect: Evaluation requires competing explanations to address the same issue.
How to improve: Use dependency theory directly to challenge the modernisation claim that internal lack of development is the main cause.
Mistake: Assuming development automatically ends conflict
Why this is incorrect: AQA also recognises resources, ethnic conflicts and global factors as possible explanations.
How to improve: Reach a conditional judgement about which forms of development might reduce which causes of conflict.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
What is meant by civil conflict? (1 mark)
Question 2
Explain one way in which poverty may become connected to conflict. (4 marks)
Question 3
Explain two reasons why lack of development may not provide a complete explanation of conflict. (6 marks)
Question 4
Outline and explain two ways in which inequality may contribute to conflict in developing societies. (10 marks)
Question 5
Outline and explain two ways in which global relationships may influence conflict in developing societies. (10 marks)
Question 6
Read Item A and answer the question that follows.
Item A
A society experiences prolonged conflict alongside widespread poverty and inequality. The continuing conflict makes attempts to improve economic and social conditions more difficult.
Applying material from Item A, analyse two ways in which conflict and underdevelopment may reinforce one another. (10 marks)
Question 7
Read Item B and answer the question that follows.
Item B
One developing society contains valuable natural resources. Competition over these resources has become connected to political conflict. Weapons used by the competing groups are also linked to wider international relationships.
Applying material from Item B, analyse two reasons why conflict may not be explained simply by a lack of development. (10 marks)
Question 8
Read Item C and answer the question that follows.
Item C
Some sociologists argue that limited development creates poverty and inequality. These conditions may produce frustration and desperation and contribute to conflict.
Other sociologists argue that conflict needs to be understood through wider factors such as control of resources, historical relationships between societies, ethnic divisions and global economic and political connections.
Applying material from Item C and your knowledge, evaluate the view that conflict in developing societies is mainly caused by a lack of development. (20 marks)
Answers and mark scheme
Question 1
Answer: Conflict taking place primarily within a society. (1 mark)
Award one mark for an accurate definition.
Question 2
Up to 4 marks for one developed explanation.
A strong answer could explain that poverty may create severe unmet needs and limited opportunities. The AQA specimen item suggests that a lack of development can therefore produce frustration and desperation, which may contribute to conflict.
For full marks, the response should explain the connection rather than simply state that poor societies experience conflict.
Question 3
Award marks for two developed reasons.
Possible answers include:
Resource curse
Conflict may arise over the control of valuable resources. This challenges the idea that war occurs simply because a society lacks resources or development.
Global factors
The global arms trade, colonialism, neo-colonialism or dependency may contribute to conflict, meaning its causes cannot be understood entirely through conditions within a developing society.
Other valid content includes:
inequality
ethnic conflicts
globalisation
Students should make clear why each factor challenges a simple lack-of-development explanation.
Question 4
A high-level response should develop two distinct ways.
Possible content includes:
Unequal resources
Groups may experience major differences in access to economic resources. These inequalities can create resentment and tension even where the society possesses resources overall.
Unequal opportunities or power
Development may benefit some groups more than others. Conflict may therefore result from how the benefits of development are distributed rather than simply the overall level of development.
Strong responses should keep inequality distinct from poverty.
Question 5
A high-level answer should explain two global influences.
Possible content includes:
Global arms trade
Conflict within a developing society may be affected by international relationships through which weapons become available. This means supposedly internal conflict also has an external dimension.
Colonialism or neo-colonialism
Dependency theorists may argue that historical and continuing unequal relationships with more powerful societies contribute to underdevelopment and social tensions.
Other relevant material includes:
globalisation
dependency
international relationships involving valuable resources
For high marks, the student should explicitly connect the global process to conflict.
Question 6
A strong answer should develop both sides of the relationship.
Possible way 1: underdevelopment contributing to conflict
The item refers to poverty and inequality. Limited development may create frustration and desperation, increasing tensions and contributing to conflict.
Possible way 2: conflict limiting development
The item states that continuing conflict makes improvements more difficult. Development may therefore remain restricted, allowing poverty and inequality to continue. This reproduces conditions that may contribute to further conflict.
The strongest responses will identify the cycle:
underdevelopment → conflict → further underdevelopment
Question 7
A high-level response should develop the two item hooks.
Possible way 1: resource curse
The item states that the society has valuable natural resources and that competition over them is linked to conflict. This challenges the view that conflict simply results from a lack of resources. Instead, the control of resources may itself become contested.
Possible way 2: global arms relationships
The item states that weapons are connected with wider international relationships. The global arms trade can therefore provide an external dimension to a conflict that appears to occur within one society.
Analysis could develop this through dependency or globalisation.
Question 8
A strong 20-mark answer should remain focused on whether lack of development is the main cause of conflict.
Arguments supporting the view may include:
poverty
inequality
frustration
desperation
underdevelopment
modernisation theory
the possibility that poor social and economic conditions generate conflict
the conflict-underdevelopment cycle
A modernisation interpretation may argue that:
limited development is central to the problem
poverty and limited opportunities may create conditions associated with conflict
conflict then makes economic and social modernisation more difficult
successful development may reduce some of the conditions associated with conflict
Evaluation of modernisation may include:
poverty does not automatically produce conflict
overall economic development may not remove inequality
conflict may have alternative causes
the explanation may focus too heavily on conditions within poorer societies
Dependency theory may argue that conflict should be understood through:
colonialism
neo-colonialism
dependency
unequal global relationships
globalisation
external economic interests
the global arms trade
Dependency theory can therefore challenge the view because:
underdevelopment itself may be produced through unequal global relationships
conflict may be shaped by actors and relationships outside the country
the causes cannot always be reduced to internal poverty
This can be evaluated because:
internal factors may still matter
inequality and ethnic divisions within societies may contribute directly
not every conflict can be explained by external power
Resource-curse explanations may argue that:
valuable resources can become the focus of competition
conflict may therefore be connected to the presence and control of resources rather than simply their absence
resource conflict challenges a simple poverty explanation
Ethnic-conflict explanations may argue that:
group divisions may be important to conflict
economic inequality may interact with ethnic divisions
Evaluation should recognise that:
ethnic difference alone is not an explanation
group conflicts may themselves involve economic or political inequalities
Post-development perspectives may argue that:
the concept of "lack of development" can oversimplify diverse societies
conventional development theories may assume one route towards a Western model of development
conflict may require explanations rooted in local, historical and political circumstances
This can be evaluated because:
poverty and inequality remain real potential causes even if conventional ideas of development are contested
Students should also recognise the reverse causal relationship:
conflict further limits development
underdevelopment can therefore be both a possible cause and consequence of conflict
long-running conflict may create a cycle in which development becomes increasingly difficult
A reasoned conclusion might argue that lack of development is an important contributing condition, particularly where poverty and inequality create frustration and limited opportunities. However, it is unlikely to be a sufficient explanation by itself. AQA's indicative content points towards a multicausal interpretation involving resources, ethnicity, historical relationships, dependency, globalisation and the global arms trade. The strongest explanation therefore considers how internal inequalities and global power relationships interact, while also recognising that conflict itself can reproduce underdevelopment.
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