Conflict financing: what’s wrong with war economies?

This report describes an approach to engaging in war economies in which informal economies meet irregular armed violence. International responses to the economic dimensions of conflict and peacebuilding have been hampered by a confusion of approaches and the complexity of the realities of armed conflict or widespread violence. The conflict-financing framework is proposed as a practical means of understanding what responsibilities arise in war economies and creating common approaches to how they might be regulated. Building on tentative progress in the relevant policy areas, the report makes several recommendations for policymakers grappling with conflict and peacebuilding.