Peaceful warriors and warring peacemakers

Abstract

Discourse and policy on war economies has tended to treat them as separate and distinct from both the pre- and post-conflict economy. In reality, war economies tend to represent simply more violent versions of the neo-patrimonialism and external trade relations that characterize many developing states both before and after conflict. Assuming that peace will inevitably resolve the legacies that war economies leave behind is thus a forlorn hope. In addition, the discourse and control agenda surrounding conflict trade has been constructed in a way that negatively affects peacebuilding. In particular, the focus on certain pariahs or specific conflict goods tends to understate the complexity of war economies and the social function they serve - features that persist into peace.