Educational Attainment and Attitudes Towards War in Muslim Countries Contemplating War: The Cases of Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Turkey

Abstract

This study addresses the little understood relationship between educational attainment and public attitudes towards war in four predominantly Muslim countries contemplating war: Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Turkey. The multivariate analysis using public opinion data suggests that the educational attainment of respondents has no statistically significant association with believing that war is necessary for obtaining justice. In a separate analysis, there is no statistically significant association between educational attainment and believing that U.N. approval is necessary before using military force to deal with an international threat. This study suggests that there is some validity to concerns raised by the U.K.’s Department for International Development and UNICEF that education may not be contributing to peaceful conflict resolution.

Keywords: Education; war; conflict; Muslim; Jordan; Lebanon; Pakistan; Turkey; social benefits of education

JEL Classification: A13, I2, O1, O2, O53, O55, O57