Impact of Ethnic Conflict

Ethnicity is a group of people with a common culture, heritage or nationality (Olzak, 2002). They may have a common ancestry, history and language. Ethnic conflicts are conflicts between different ethnic groups due to nationality or ethnic hatred. The hatred could be as a result of cold war or real war leading to war crimes and genocides. Some of the countries affected include Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Congo, Sri Lanka and Iraq.

One crucial impact of ethnic conflicts is negative economic growth. After a war, the economy of the affected countries decline due to the destruction and loss of the national industries. The industries demand a lot of capital to build and reconstruct. Capital resources are usually not available during the aftermath of the conflicts.

Countries that have experienced ethnic conflicts receive bad publicity from the international community. As a result, their image is tainted, which affects their trade relations. The international community prefers to work with countries that respect human rights. Countries involved in ethnic conflicts show disregard for human rights and may be sidelined by the international community. The most affected sector is tourism, which requires good international relations.

Countries that have experienced ethnic conflicts incur huge debts after the conflict. The debts result from loans borrowed from other countries to rebuild the country from the ruins of war. The citizens of these countries are forced to shoulder the burden of repaying the debts for many years through heavy taxation.

Another effect is loss of lives and property. Many people die during the war while the property is destroyed. The destroyed property could have belonged to individuals or governments before the war. After the war, those who depended on the property suffer due poverty and low living standards.

Reference

Olzak, S. (2002). The dynamics of ethnic competition and conflict. Stanford: Stanford University Press.