"The first agenda item for ending famines is

understanding them. The decline in famines is strongly

associated with the rise of democratic freedoms and a

beneficent multilateral world order. Sen’s thesis that the

growth of democratic freedoms has driven the reduction in

famines can work in reverse: in a world of resurgent authoritarianism,

exclusion and xenophobia, we need to be more worried about famine.

Criminal actions of various kinds are an integral part in the creation of

mass starvation."

Alex de Waal – Mass starvation – The history and future of famine