Breaking the Cycle: Exploring the Interplay of Conflict, Hunger, Poverty, and Food Insecurity in Africa and Other Regions, and Implications for Policy

  • 388

    Total views and downloads

About this Research Topic

Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline 22 June 2025 | Manuscript Submission Deadline 10 October 2025

  2. This Research Topic is still accepting articles.

Background

While conflict, hunger, poverty, and food insecurity often create a devastating, self-reinforcing cycle that disproportionately affects Africa and other developing nations, it's crucial to acknowledge that this is not the continent's only story. Conflict cripples agricultural production by disrupting markets, destroying infrastructure, and displacing populations, leading to widespread poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Simultaneously, food shortages fuel instability, intensify competition for scarce resources, and further exacerbate displacement, creating a complex interplay where vulnerable communities bear the brunt of the crisis, hindering progress and perpetuating suffering. However, countries like Botswana and Tanzania offer counter-examples, demonstrating that stable governance and strategic investments can foster resilience even amidst regional challenges.

Crucially, this relationship is bidirectional. Poverty and food insecurity can also ignite conflict, as a lack of opportunities breeds unrest and makes individuals susceptible to recruitment by armed groups. Moreover, food insecurity intensifies tensions over already limited resources, further escalating the risk of violence. Breaking this cycle requires a deep understanding of these complex dynamics and a commitment to tailored, context-specific interventions informed by comparative regional analysis.

This Research Topic addresses the devastating interplay of conflict, hunger, poverty, and food insecurity, a vicious cycle plaguing many African regions and other vulnerable regions globally. Current fragmented approaches are insufficient; we need holistic, integrated strategies. Our goal is to uncover how to achieve lasting peace and food security through prioritized conflict resolution and sustainable development. Learning from success stories such as Botswana and Tanzania, which have prioritized good governance and strategic resource management, is crucial.

This includes investing in resilient infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture to boost food production, and social protection programmes to alleviate poverty and hunger. Strengthening governance through equitable resource allocation and addressing core grievances are essential to prevent conflict resurgence. Success requires a comprehensive, evidence-based policy framework embracing all these factors, fostering sustainable progress and well-being.

This Research Topic investigates the intricate links between conflict, hunger, poverty, and food insecurity, with the goal of informing policy interventions that can disrupt this self-perpetuating cycle. We encourage submissions exploring, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Conflict and Food Systems: Investigating the complex ways conflict impairs agricultural production, supply chains, and market access.
• Food Insecurity and a Driver of Conflict: Analysing how scarcity, price volatility, and unequal access to food drive social unrest and violence.
• Poverty and Vulnerability Amplification: Analysing how poverty exacerbates vulnerability to conflict, food insecurity, and other shocks, creating cyclical hardship.
• Effectiveness of Peacebuilding and Development Interventions: Evaluating the impact and sustainability of peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development initiatives in building resilience and promoting long-term stability.
• Regional and National Case Studies: In-depth analyses highlighting local contexts and challenges in regions and countries affected by these complex crises.
• Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier: Exploring the role of climate change in exacerbating resource scarcity, triggering displacement, and intensifying conflict dynamics.
• Gendered Dimensions of Vulnerability and Resilience: Investigating the specific vulnerabilities and coping mechanisms of women and girls affected by conflict and food insecurity.
• The Role of Governance and Institutions: Analysing the impact of governance structures, corruption, and weak institutions on perpetuating the cycle of conflict, hunger, and poverty.
• Technological Innovations and Solutions: Exploring the potential of technological advancements in agriculture, early warning systems, and humanitarian aid delivery to mitigate the effects of these crises.
• Policy Recommendations for Integrated Solutions: Proposing evidence-based and context-specific policies to address the interconnected challenges of conflict, hunger, poverty, and governance.

Research Topic Research topic image

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Community Case Study
  • Conceptual Analysis
  • Data Report
  • Editorial
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Keywords: Violent Conflict, Food Security, Humanitarian Aid, Extreme Poverty, Developing Countries

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

Manuscripts can be submitted to this Research Topic via the main journal or any other participating journal.

Impact

  • 388Topic views
View impact