Prior research has found robust support for a relationship between gender inequality and increased risk of violent armed conflict on the country-level. Research has also indicated that better gender equality potentially could serve to improve a society’s capacity to resist violence.
However, many propositions for why inequality would be related to violent conflict rely on notions about norms, grievances and capacity which operate at a local level and which, hence, may not be fully captured by country-level data. In fact, both violent conflict and inequality vary significantly within countries, not least in a country as large and diverse as India.
As recent media debates have displayed, India is a country wrestling with gender inequality. Moreover, India has seen multiple armed conflicts affecting many of its states and union territories.
By combining fieldwork with statistical analysis of new micro-level data on India’s 640 districts, this project seeks to improve our understanding of the mechanisms behind inequality and violent conflict. Thereby, the project makes a unique contribution to the ongoing international debate on why gender matters for international peace and security.
- This project is conducted together with Erika Forsberg, Uppsala University.
- Funded by the Swedish Research Council.
