The private sector has often been accused of fuelling armed conflict, but what motivates business-led peace building? What explains business preferences for peaceful solutions at the local level? This paper by the Crisis States Programme at the London School of Economics looks at four business initiatives in Columbia that are leading peace building initiatives and mitigating the effects of conflict. It asks what motivated them to become involved in business led peace building with a view to understanding the wider prospects for business to become a partner in peace building, whilst also pointing out potential limits and obstacles to this.
The relationship between business and conflict is multifaceted and variable. Specific contexts and specific company traits indicate why some businesses engage in initiatives while others remain passive or take a strong-arm approach. Whilst most businesses in Columbia have remained passive and disengaged in peace building in Columbia, the four studied represent an exception to this rule. They share a common belief that eventual peace in Columbia will require development from below.
There was a complex and unique combination of context and company-specific factors behind the peace building initiatives. Fundamentally, self-interest in the form of stakes in established markets and greater vulnerability to the costs of conflict make businesses more likely to engage in peace building. The following specific factors were also identified:
- Business can effectively take over some state functions in cases where state absence means that authorities cannot provide security or address socio-economic development themselves.
- Intensification of conflict costs coupled with bleak economic outlook or crisis was crucial in prompting businesses to engage in peace building.
- Context affects businesses differently depending on company specific factors.
- Rural businesses and those with fixed assets or lack of mobility do not have the choices of relocation or exit.
- Small or medium business size limits prospects of success after relocation.
- In three of the four cases peace building initiatives were encouraged by previous philanthropic experience.
- Ability to free ride on external financial support is an important element in private sector participation in peace building.
Understanding these factors will allow policy makers to engage businesses effectively in peace building:
- Policies must address issues of direct commercial relevance such as worker training, community relations, strengthening local distribution networks and other forms of raising productivity and profitability.
- The ongoing availability of external resources is vital for durable business-led peace building.
- Business-led peace initiatives may be independent of what happens in formal peace discussions involving the private sector, focussing on local realities rather than a national agenda.
- Local private sector initiatives fill the void left by an absent state. This contributes to strengthening the state but may also deepen regional inequalities.
- Ongoing perception of threat is necessary to maintain commitment. Experience showed that the reduction of threat made it difficult to maintain the momentum of initiatives.
