ABSTRACT
International policy responses also do not seem particularly attractive even to an ethical company. Policymakers in international organisations and financial institutions promoting the private sector, as well as advocacy organisations trying to restrain it, similarly appear to view in the distance the promised land of sound institutions, an inclusive economy, respect for international human rights and rule of law for now-fragile states. A confluence of social, political and economic factors impact the perceptions, attitudes, interests and choices of a variety of actors towards conflict or stability. More conflict will be avoided and fewer existing conflicts exacerbated as international actors change their unit of analysis from the national level to the local contexts in which individual large-scale businesses operate. Local strategies to manage conflict in the context of large-scale business investments succeed where national-level state-building, private-sector promotion and rule-of-law initiatives fail because the local approach is more targeted to local conditions, faster and better adapted to fragile environments.
