Using the rational choice approach, Syed Mansoob Murshed analyses the motivations behind civil war and identifies growth and institutional failure as catalysts of the greed and grievance that characterise the onset and persistence of civil war. This book explores the pre-conditions for conflict in terms of growth failure and critically appraises the greed and grievance theories common to conflict literature. It is argued that various institutional mechanisms of restraint that can be labeled the 'social contract' are crucial for violent conflict avoidance. The reasons underpinning the instability of treaties ending civil wars, post-conflict reconstruction issues, liberal peace theory, and how globalization and conflict relate are also examined.

Explaining Civil War will be of interest to development economists and political scientists, as well as to students and researchers of political economy and conflict studies.