The Political Economy of Armed Conflict: Beyond Greed and Grievance

Front Cover
Karen Ballentine, Jake Sherman
Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003 - Business & Economics - 317 pages
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.

From inside the book

Contents

Introduction
1
The Political Economy of Conflict and UN Intervention Rethinking the Critical Cases of Africa
19
Oil Drugs and Diamonds The Varying Roles of Natural Resources in Civil War
47
The Colombian Conflict Political and Economic Dimensions
73
Nepal Economic Drivers of the Maoist Insurgency
107
The Bougainville Conflict Political and Economic Agendas
133
Kosovo The Political Economy of Conflict and Peacebuilding
167
Sri Lanka Feeding the Tamil Tigers
197
Burma Lessons from the CeaseFires
225
Beyond Greed and Grievance Reconsidering the Economic Dynamics of Armed Conflict
259
List of Acronyms
285
Selected Bibliography
289
The Contributors
301
Index
305
About the Book
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information