Introduction The economic issues underlying armed conflicts and the

belligerents’ motivation to fight are often overlooked by

peacemakers.1 They are usually relegated to the later stage

of post-conflict reconstruction as largely technical or humani-

tarian matters, while political and military issues take centre

stage. However, there is a growing recognition in the peace

mediation community that such a neat separation between

the ‘political’ peace process, and ‘economic’ – or ‘develop-

mental’ – post-conflict peacebuilding is no longer conducive

to brokering a lasting peace. Economic issues are associated

with conflict economies, natural resources or socio-economic

inequalities, and as such they are an intrinsic part of many

armed conflicts. The economy also plays a crucial part in

vision-based peacemaking, which sets out realistically achiev-

able alternatives to continued war and instability. These

issues place economics and development at the heart of peace

processes. In the words of Noble Peace Prize Laureate Martti

Ahtisaari:

agreeing about practical and concrete economic condi-

tions during peace negotiations is crucial. Maybe one

could even claim that finding a mutual understanding

on money can really be seen as a manifestation of joint

political will for peace.2