War and conflict can have severe consequences for global development because they affect many areas of social life at the same time. Conflict can damage schools, hospitals, housing, transport, food supplies, trade routes and the environment. It can also increase poverty, displacement, debt, gender-based violence and population change. Modernisation theorists might argue that war disrupts the infrastructure, investment and stability needed for development. Dependency theorists may focus on how conflict can be linked to colonial borders, resource extraction, arms sales, foreign intervention, debt and global inequality. Feminist sociologists highlight the gendered impacts of war, including sexual violence, care burdens, widowhood, trafficking and women’s exclusion from peace negotiations. Environmental sociologists also point to pollution, landmines, destroyed farmland and resource depletion. Strong synoptic answers should show that war does not only damage one part of society; it creates a web of linked consequences that can reproduce underdevelopment over generations.
In this activity, students explore how war and conflict affect development through a linked impact web. They choose a fictional conflict case, then click through areas such as gender, education, healthcare, population, environment and trade. Each section explains how conflict affects that area, how it connects to other development issues, and which sociological theories can be used to evaluate it. The aim is to practise synoptic linking: showing how one issue leads to several connected consequences. For example, war may destroy schools, which reduces educational opportunities, which can increase poverty, child labour, gender inequality and long-term dependency. This activity is useful for AQA Global Development because it connects war, conflict, poverty, aid, trade, population, gender, health, education, environment and sociological theory.
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War and Development Impact Web
Explore how war and conflict affect gender, education, healthcare, population, environment and trade. Click each impact area to reveal causes, consequences, theory links and synoptic connections.
Gender
Conflict can increase gender-based violence, care burdens and exclusion from power.
Education
Schools may close, be destroyed or become unsafe for children and teachers.
Healthcare
Hospitals, medicines, vaccination and mental health support may collapse.
Population
War can cause displacement, refugee flows, deaths and changing birth patterns.
Environment
Conflict can damage land, water, wildlife, farming and natural resources.
Trade
War disrupts markets, exports, imports, supply chains and investment.
Choose a conflict case
Synoptic paragraph builder
Use this structure: War affects development because… This links to… As a result… This creates a further problem because… A sociological evaluation is…
Revision summary: war, conflict and development
- War damages infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, roads, water systems and trade routes.
- Conflict affects human development by reducing education, healthcare, safety and life chances.
- Gendered impacts include sexual violence, increased care work, widowhood, trafficking and exclusion from peace processes.
- Population effects include deaths, displacement, refugees, urban overcrowding and family separation.
- Environmental harm can include damaged farmland, polluted water, landmines, resource extraction and deforestation.
- Dependency theory can link conflict to colonial borders, resource wars, arms sales and external intervention.
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