Globalization, suggest the authors of this collection, is creating new opportunities - some legal, some illicit - for armed factions to pursue their agendas in civil war. Within this context, they analyze the key dynamics of war economies and the challenges posed for conflict resolution and sustainable peace. Thematic chapters consider key issues in the political economy of internal wars, as well as how differing types of resource dependency influence the scope, character, and duration of conflicts. Case studies of Burma, Colombia, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka illustrate a range of ways in which belligerents make use of global markets and the transnational flow of resources. An underlying theme is the opportunities available to the international community to alter the economic incentive structure that inadvertently supports armed conflict.

Globalization, suggest the authors of this collection, is creating new opportunities--some legal, some illicit--for armed factions to pursue their agendas in civil war. Within this context, they analyze the key dynamics of war economies and the challenges posed for conflict resolution and sustainable peace. Thematic chapters consider key issues in the political economy of internal wars, as well as how differing types of resource dependency influence the scope, character, and duration of conflicts. Case studies of Burma, Colombia, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, and Sri Lanka illustrate a range of ways in which belligerents make use of global markets and the transnational flow of resources. An underlying theme is the opportunities available to the international community to alter the economic incentive structure that inadvertently supports armed conflict.

This volume identifies the economic and social factors underlying the perpetuation of civil wars, exploring as well the economic incentives and disencentives available to international actors seeking to restore peace to war-torn societies. The authors consider the economic rationality of conflict for beligerents, the economic strategies that elites use to sustain their positions, and in what situations elites find war to be more profitable than peace.

"This book ... emphasizes the role of economic factors in the conditions that lead to state collapse, give rise to and sustain conflict, and complicate peacebuilding." The book argues that "existing state-level focus tends to ignore the role of regional linkages in permitting and sustaining conflict and as obstacles to transformation." Furthermore that, "the focus on the dynamics of conflict in states of the developing world tends to artificially distance the outside, predominantly "Western" world from their genesis and evolution ..." (taken from introduction)

The new contributions in this book, by acknowledged leaders in the field, examine the delivery of effective aid under fire, and securing the peace in environments where governance is fragile. They bridge the cultural divide between the security and development professions at a time of unprecedented global economic integration, geopolitical turbulence, and novel threats to international peace and security. More than a billion people live in countries where governance is weak, poverty is rampant, and economies are depressed. Failed and frail states provide ideal breeding grounds for civil strife, criminality, and "new wars" that target civilians, use children as combatants, and commit massive human rights violations. The new security risks loom within national borders, while the capacity of the international community to intervene 'behind borders' remains inadequate. Policy making for security still relies heavily on military responses. Yet military responses cannot address, and may even worsen, the social and cultural antecedents of civil strife and social resentment. Similarly, development aid policy and practice are poorly adapted to the new realities of frail governance and insecure operating environments in aid recipient countries. This book was previously published as a special issue of the leading journal Conflict, Security and Development.