War Economies: Common Traits and Implications for Lasting Peace
Sabine Kurtenbach / Angelika Rettberg
War Economies: Common Traits and Implications for Lasting Peace
Chapter in Edited Volume | 2025
Abstract
War economies are neither a new phenomenon nor a specific feature of the Global South. With the shifting patterns in armed conflict toward the Global South and the end of the Cold War, the debate changed focus towards blood diamonds, illicit narcotics, or artisanal mining among others. These resources are important for arrmed actors to sustain their organizations as well as to broaden territorial and political control After the formal end of confrontations, war economies do not necessarily cease to exist. While this is obvious for rural areas where drugs are produced, or diamonds, timber, or gold are extracted, some patterns of urban violence in postwar societies are also related to the political and economic remnants and legacies of war economies. The chapter describes different types of war economies and discusses their implications for building lasting peace in transitional societies.
The GIGA and the EULAC Foundation co-organised, with the support of the City of Hamburg, the two-day workshop ‘Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking’ in early April 2025. This policy brief present the core themes and insights emerging from the workshop, highlighting key takeaways.
Do war economies thwart postwar transformations and peacebuilding? This paper reveals a complex relationship shaped by political regimes and state capacities. It suggests that postwar countries can strengthen democratic institutions and state presence, rather than being inherently doomed by their war economies.
The GIGA and the EULAC Foundation co-organised, with the support of the City of Hamburg, the two-day workshop ‘Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking’ in early April 2025. This policy brief present the core themes and insights emerging from the workshop, highlighting key takeaways.
Do war economies thwart postwar transformations and peacebuilding? This paper reveals a complex relationship shaped by political regimes and state capacities. It suggests that postwar countries can strengthen democratic institutions and state presence, rather than being inherently doomed by their war economies.
The GIGA and the EULAC Foundation co-organised, with the support of the City of Hamburg, the two-day workshop ‘Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking’ in early April 2025. This policy brief present the core themes and insights emerging from the workshop, highlighting key takeaways.
