In recent years, most civil wars have taken place in Muslim countries. Are Muslim countries more war-prone? Not necessarily, if we look at data for the whole period after World War II. But in the post-Cold War era, most wars are civil wars. Muslim countries have a disproportionate share of these – not because such conflicts have increased, but mainly because other conflicts have declined. This policy brief lists several hypotheses for why this pattern has emerged.
Gleditsch, Nils Petter & Ida Rudolfsen (2015) Are Muslim Countries More War-Prone?, Conflict Trends, 3. Oslo: PRIO.
