The effects of climate variability and change on security
are debated. While this topic has received considerable attention in both
policy circles and academia, the microlevel pathways and conditions under which
climatic shocks increase conflict risks are poorly understood. We suggest that
household resilience provides one key to understanding these relationships.
Using novel household survey data from two conflict-affected regions in Eastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo, we study variation in the support for
violence related to reported exposure to drought and resilience metrics. Using
comprehensive multifaceted objective and subjective indicators of resilience,
we find that less resilient respondents who report having experienced drought
and associated losses are more likely to be supportive of the use of political
violence. In contrast, our findings suggest that there is no general association
between reporting drought exposure and support for violence.