Introduction

A fifth of humanity lives in abject poverty. This is something that should be unacceptable to the more affluent for two related reasons. First of all, it affronts our sense of common humanity. Secondly, it undermines international security, as poverty eventually engenders violence and revolt. Enlightened self-interest therefore dictates that poverty should be alleviated. In short, it is difficult to separate the development and security agenda. The reduction of absolute poverty yields a double dividend by simultaneously addressing security considerations and developmental concerns. Thus, the achievement of the millennium development goals (MDGs) regarding poverty reduction is twice blessed: it serves both the altruistic and security minded motives of the donor community.

Most wars nowadays are intra-state or civil wars. The overwhelming majority of these civil wars occur in developing countries. Ultimately, wars are irrational when compared to negotiated settlements, because wars destroy part of the initial endowment of belligerents, no matter what the final outcome. But the logic of bounded or myopic rationality can sometimes make war rational. Furthermore, there is an intimate link between poverty and conflict. On the one hand, war prevents the achievement of the MDGs, perpetuating poverty, underdevelopment and the lack of growth. On the other hand, poverty provides fertile grounds for conflict entrepreneurs, as potential combatants have less to lose from death and destruction on account of their own poverty. For all of these reasons, ending conflict, or reducing its intensity, must be a high policy imperative in the development, poverty reduction and international security agenda.

Despite the reservations of some, economic growth constitutes the principal avenue by which sustainable poverty reduction can be attained in low-income developing countries. Redistributing income, without making the cake bigger, only serves to make the already poor more equal. Thus, growth is a necessary condition for poverty reduction in low-income countries. Growth can reduce poverty if some of the benefits of growth trickle down to the poor, even if its principal beneficiaries are the wealthy. This is where other notions of propoor growth, such as those advocated by Kakwani and Pernia (2000), become relevant.