Underdevelopment and the "Gap" Theory of International Conflict

Bibliographic Data

ID3765503
AuthorsK J Holsti (0000-0003-1989-0704, University of British Columbia, corresponding author)
Year1975
Volume69
Issue3
Pages827-839
Publication date1975-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/1958392
OpenAlexW2066157590
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited32

A common hypothesis about the sources of international conflict holds that war and turmoil will be an inevitable consequence of the widening "gap" between the developed and underdeveloped states. This view is based on a common Western image of underdeveloped countries which assumes that striving for economic betterment is universal in all underdeveloped countries, and is primarily a grass-roots phenomenon. This essay challenges the hypothesis and the assumptions upon which it is based. It argues that the images of underdevelopment generated by economists using aggregate data are in many cases incorrect or distorted. Studies by anthropologists which are based on micro- rather than macrodata produce quite different impressions of the underdeveloped society. The human costs involved are for the most part overlooked in development schemes, and the wholesale importation of Western economic development strategies has led in many cases not only to a poor allocation of resources, but also to many of the problems the developed societies are now facing, including urban congestion, rising crime rates, higher incidence of mental breakdown, and the like.The paper concludes with a critical review of common liberal solutions to development problems, and suggests that one strategy possible for some developing countries is increased isolation from the international system. International conflict may result not only because the underdeveloped states wish to close the "gap," but because some may choose deliberately to reduce their dependency on the West. Conflict may be generated through isolation as well as through increased interaction

Conceptualization · Developing country · Development economics · Economic growth · Economic system · Economics · Isolation (microbiology · Market economy · Phenomenon · Political economy · Political science · Scarcity · State (computer science · Underdevelopment · International Development and Aid · Peacebuilding and International Security · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East

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