Learning Objectives
What strategies can parliament take to prevent conflict?

After studying this unit you should be able to:

• Understand the relationship between poverty and conflict and the impact conflict has on poverty;

• Appreciate how democratic governance contributes to conflict prevention;

• Identify the reasons why democratic governance is good for development;

•  Discuss how parliament can contribute to conflict prevention, not only by addressing contentious issues but also by helping to avert poverty.

Introduction

This unit examines the mutually reinforcing relationships between democratic governance and development, and poverty and conflict. The aim of the unit is to highlight the different strategies that parliament is able to adopt in order to contribute to conflict prevention while performing its everyday functions.  The important role of parliament in conflict-affected countries is even more pronounced since that that there is now a clearly established correlation between poverty and conflict. By addressing issues of poverty, equitable distribution of resources, and economic development parliamentarians can attempt to guard against the creation of an environment that is prone to enabling conflict.  This correlation is reinforced by growing evidence of a positive relationship between democratic governance and sustainable long-term development.  This positive correlative relationship is termed the nexus between parliaments, poverty reduction and conflict prevention.