Border Disputes as Potential Barriers to Disaster Response

• In Event: Innovations in the Study of Militaries and International Conflict

Abstract

Relief aid is a critical component to communities’ response to natural disasters. However, both international and domestic relief aid may be unevenly distributed across provinces, reducing some residents’ ability to recover in the wake of a disaster. We examine how interstate border disputes and ongoing rivalries influence the delivery and movement of aid following disasters. We hypothesize that existing interstate rivalries can limit international organizations’ ability to reach border regions, thus reducing the amount of relief aid these regions receive. In the aftermath of the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, for example, the movement of relief aid was restricted along the border with Syria, which hampered the ability of aid workers to deliver post-disaster assistance in the border region. We test our argument by comparing disaster relief in areas near the Peru and Ecuador border vs. areas near the Peru and Bolivia border. The border with Ecuador was contested for much longer periods of times (Oriente-Mainas, 1854-1945; Cordillera del Condor, 1947-1998) than the border with Bolivia (Acre, 1848-1912). Using original data from the Disasters, Migration, and Violence (DMV) Lab, we compile information on disaster response in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru from 1900-2020. We geocode the location of disaster response and distance to capital and nearest border and examine the types of responses, as well as the connections with interstate or civil conflict in the areas. We also consider how the construction of a new border wall between Ecuador and Peru in 2017 altered disaster responses near the border area.

Authors

• Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, University of Iowa

• Elise Pizzi, University of Iowa

• Adam Lappe, University of Iowa