The argument whether poverty leads to conflict or conflict leads to poverty has being a heated debate among scholars in academia. This paper seeks to provide explanations on the meaning of poverty and conflict, the nexus between poverty and conflict and its impacts on development from different perspectives, causes of poverty and conflict, theories of conflict and to succinctly take a position whether poverty leads to conflict or conflict leads to poverty.
There is no definite definition of poverty and conflict. According to Encarta, poverty is the condition of having insufficient resources or income. In its most extreme form, poverty is a lack of basic human needs such as adequate and nutritious food, clothing, housing, clean water and health services. According to the United Nations Development Report, [2000], “poverty is defined as a complex phenomenon that generally refers to inadequacy of resources and deprivation of choices that would enable people to enjoy a decent living conditions.”
According to Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel laureate in economics, argues that the “capability to function” is what matters for status as a poor or nonpoor. As Sen put it, “economic growth cannot be sensibly treated as an end in itself. Development has to be more concerned with enhancing the lives we lead and the freedoms we enjoy.”
This argument by Sen, underscores that although economic growth is good but cannot be regarded as development. Development has to affect the lives of the