The Transformation of War Economies project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of its New Security Challenges Programme. Based in the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, the project focuses on the dynamics that affect the way in which the economies of countries at war perpetuate or mutate in peace, and the difficulties this presents for peacebuilding.

The central research issue is: how to build a political economy of peace?

Aims and Objectives:

1. investigate the legacies, including the role of local elites, social networks and criminality that war economies leave for peace in post-conflict states;
2. assess the effectiveness of initiatives to transform war economies in sustainable ways;
3. develop a theoretical base for a new literature of post-conflict political economies;
4. develop policy guidelines for government and non-government agencies involved in building political economies of peace.