Living in Turbulence: War Exposure and Crime in Households for 15 African Countries Over 15 Years

• In Event: Macrostructures, Cultural Criminology and Crime

Abstract

This study utilizes the Afrobarometer Survey, a pan-African panel survey that measures public attitudes on various topics, to understand the relationship between war exposure and changes in interpersonal violence. Existing research has traditionally focused on “the West” and thus limited knowledge on this relationship in different cultural contexts. Such research has also been limited in investigating the intensity of war exposure. Moreover, this body of research is often constrained by the shorter timeframes they investigate. Recognizing these issues, this paper elaborates on this problem by interrogating more closely how socio-political factors, conflict type, and conflict proximity are key to understanding this link. We use Rounds 2 through 7 of the Afrobarometer Survey for 15 African countries over 15 years, examining this question through the lens of anomie theories, adapted social contract theory, and legal cynicism perspectives. We find that there are meaningful differences and similarities among which countries are more likely to experience a change in citizen fear of interpersonal crime in the wake of large-scale, national-level conflict.

Authors

• Dixin Li, University of Maryland

• Sarah Silberman, University of Maryland