The Business of Economics and Peace

If there is an overarching theme to this special issue, and the conference on which it was based, it is that long-term financial success in business is not possible without an enterprise-wide strategic focus on shared prosperity for business and society. While this perspective is not pervasive throughout the business literatures, research in this domain is growing and there is an increasing body of work examining the rationale for businesses to proactively respond to violent conflict in countries where they operate and to engage in peace building efforts that not only benefit firms but also the communities in which they operate.

Given the need we see for increased understanding of these challenges, this special issue arose out the 2nd Biennial Conference, “The Business and Economics of Peace” co-organized by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) and the Kogod School at American University (AU) and held April 10-11, 2015 in the Kogod School of Business in Washington, D.C. A goal of the event was to bring students, academics, and practitioners together around issues related to business, economics and peace building, still a relatively nascent field especially in the business and management research. For those of us who have been working in this area for some time, it is especially exciting to see the relatively large and growing number of graduate students who are entering this field and preparing to become tomorrow’s leaders. Showcasing three key papers, this issue shares the outcomes of the conference, to spark broader debate on how to create the partnerships required for a multi-sector approach to peacebuilding.