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The paper maps the disparate research and practice of 'business-peace' interactions into five core assertions: economic engagement creating a peace dividend, local development building peace capacities, importing international norms for accountability, constraining conflict drivers, and direct corporate diplomacy. While proponents argue these activities foster stability and development, critics warn of neo-colonial exploitation, 'peacewashing', and the risk of exacerbating local inequalities. The author concludes that business contributions are often limited by the willingness of local regimes and the priority of profit over courageous ethical choices in fragile contexts.

The document argues that treating nonstate actors as unitary entities in civil conflict analysis creates a gap between conceptual frames and empirical reality. It proposes a 'disaggregation' approach to examine how internal divisions, factionalism, and shifting coalitions influence the initiation, escalation, and termination of violence. The authors highlight that fragmentation can either increase violence through in-group competition or facilitate peace through state co-optation of specific factions. The text calls for more disaggregated data to better understand the dynamics of nonstate actors, including the role of external state intervention in precipitating or exacerbating internal splits.

The document examines the contested nature of 'power sharing,' noting that it is often implemented as a tool for conflict resolution but yields contradictory results in research. It identifies four primary types of power sharing: political, military, territorial, and economic. The author argues that findings vary based on whether researchers view power sharing as a means to achieve stable democracy (consociationalism) or as a tool for postconflict conflict management. While some studies suggest inclusive institutions prolong peace by addressing rebel security concerns, others argue they reward violence, strengthen ethnic divisions, and hinder democratic accountability by marginalizing opposition.

The document argues that rebel groups provide a unique 'laboratory' for understanding governance because they operate outside the Westphalian state system. It examines how rebels implement rule-making, enforcement, and service provision, and how these activities relate to their legitimacy and capacity. The authors propose a multi-dimensional framework for rebel capacity—military, economic, personnel, administrative, and social—and argue that territorial control is not always a prerequisite for governance. By comparing rebel and state behaviors, the paper suggests that governance is often multi-layered and that the relationship between territorial control and legitimacy is complex and non-linear.

The author advocates for treating gun violence as a public health issue rather than a purely legal or security matter, particularly in Africa. The text explains that firearms act as 'violence multipliers' that increase the lethality of both premeditated and impulsive violence. It identifies critical gaps in mortality and possession data across sub-Saharan Africa and outlines how WHO recommendations and international agreements—such as the UN Programme of Action and regional protocols in West, East, and Southern Africa—can be leveraged by public health professionals to secure funding and government cooperation.

The document examines the 'capitalist peace' thesis, which argues that capitalism—through free trade, investment, and property rights—reduces the likelihood of interstate conflict. It contrasts this with the 'democratic peace' and 'Kantian peace' frameworks, noting that while some scholars argue capitalism is the primary driver of peace, others see it as supplementary to democracy. The authors identify critical gaps in the current literature, specifically the lack of precise micro-foundations linking market attributes to peace and the difficulty in empirically distinguishing capitalist peace from commercial liberalism.

The document provides a comprehensive review of modern Just War theory, analyzing the criteria for entering war (jus ad bellum), conducting war (jus in bello), and ending war (jus post bellum). It highlights key tensions, such as the debate over humanitarian intervention, the morality of preventive war, and the 'moral equality of soldiers'—the question of whether combatants fighting an unjust war can still act justly in their conduct.

The document examines how ethno-national diasporas influence civil wars through financial contributions, military and political involvement, and international advocacy. It analyzes the dual nature of this influence, noting that while diaspora resources can prolong conflict by sustaining armed groups and hardening political stances, they also offer significant potential for peace through post-conflict reconstruction, the provision of skilled personnel for new institutions, and the promotion of human rights discourses.

The author examines the post-communist trajectories of Central and Southeastern Europe, arguing that the collapse of communism was foreseeable and constituted a comprehensive revolution. The text analyzes debates over whether the process was a 'transition' or 'transformation' and identifies key determinants of democratic consolidation, such as the absence of war, the role of the European Union, and educational attainment. It specifically refutes the 'ancient hatreds' myth regarding the Yugoslav meltdown, attributing the conflict instead to system illegitimacy, economic decay, and the agency of leaders like Slobodan Milošević.

The research paper by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) challenges the perception that lighter vehicles are inherently less safe by virtually modeling an 'UltraLight' concept vehicle. Through crash simulations and comparisons with a 2007 Ford Edge, the study demonstrates that while an early-stage ultralight design may offer less protection to its own driver than a heavy vehicle, it is significantly less aggressive toward other road users. The findings suggest that a transition to a lightweight fleet could reduce overall injuries and that safety is primarily a function of design and materials rather than mass.

The report categorizes battery energy storage services into three stakeholder groups: ISO/RTOs, utilities, and customers. It details the technical application and economic value of services such as frequency regulation, resource adequacy, and demand charge reduction. The document includes a meta-study of six major energy storage valuation publications and outlines specific use-case assumptions for commercial and residential systems in San Francisco, New York, and Phoenix.

The report investigates the captive predator breeding industry in South Africa, specifically focusing on lions. It challenges industry claims of economic significance and conservation value, arguing that the industry relies on deceptive marketing to attract volunteer tourists and supplies the 'canned hunting' and lion bone trades. The author contends that the industry lacks scientific grounding, suffers from genetic inbreeding, and may facilitate organised crime through the legal export of lion skeletons to Asia. The paper suggests that the opportunity costs—including damage to South Africa's tourism brand and the loss of potential jobs from ethical ecotourism—outweigh the industry's private returns, recommending a move toward a zero export quota for lion derivatives.

The document identifies a critical gap between national-level policy frameworks for climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) and their implementation at the community level in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It argues that while GMS countries have foundational laws and policies, these are often siloed, lacking consistent standards and decentralized finance. The report advocates for scaling up successful community-led models, improving the accessibility of climate finance for local actors, and integrating DRR and CCA into a single, cohesive approach to better serve vulnerable populations, including women and ethnic minorities.

The report examines the impact of improved cookstoves in Central America, noting that while many stoves reduce emissions, they often fail to meet WHO air quality guidelines for personal exposure. It identifies user-centered design, training, and financing as critical for adoption, while highlighting a lack of longitudinal data on sustained use.

This policy brief, produced as part of the European Commission FP7 funded MEDIATION project, evaluates Robust Decision Making (RDM) as a decision support tool for climate change adaptation. RDM focuses on identifying strategies that perform well across a wide range of plausible futures—prioritizing 'robustness' over 'optimality'—particularly in situations of 'deep uncertainty' where probabilistic data is scarce.

The report assesses conservation agriculture (CA) in Niger, focusing on techniques like Assisted Natural Regeneration (RNA), Zaï, and mulching. It highlights the positive impacts of RNA on crop yields and soil fertility, particularly in the Maradi region, while identifying constraints such as limited crop residue availability and land-use conflicts.

The document provides a conceptual framework for institutional capacity development (CD) in developing countries, integrating traditional institutional development, governance, and micro-economics. It defines institutional capacity as a combination of functions, resources, and structures, and argues that sustainability depends on local ownership and the ability to secure domestic resources. The authors propose generic 'capacity areas'—such as information, competence, and governance—and suggest monitoring tools like the Institutional Development Framework (IDF) and the Organisational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT) to track progress through specific indicators.

This report argues that transforming gender relations in sub-Saharan African agriculture is essential for improving agricultural productivity, food security, and overall human development. It posits a causal link between gender equality in households and communities and better agricultural outcomes, asserting that standard development interventions cannot fully succeed unless women and men are on equal footing.

The document evaluates Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), identifying successful practices such as agroforestry, mangrove rehabilitation, and circular farming. It highlights significant policy gaps in water resources and disaster risk management (DRM), alongside barriers including poverty, tenure insecurity, and a preference for 'grey' infrastructure. The study emphasizes the need for cross-sectoral coordination, innovative financing like Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), and the integration of local and indigenous knowledge to scale resilience.

The document identifies critical gaps in current disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts, specifically the neglect of cultural and contextual factors in vulnerability assessments. It argues that DRR, climate change adaptation, and development are currently 'siloed' and must be integrated to avoid unsustainable patterns of exploitation and loss. The authors call for a shift from top-down, expert-driven governance to transformative, bottom-up approaches that incorporate local knowledge and non-economic assets. To achieve this, they propose using holistic, mixed-method research tools, such as Knowledge Elicitation Tools (KnETs), to better understand the tacit drivers of decision-making and organisational culture.