Violent conflict can spell catastrophe for developing countries and their neighbors, stunting and even reversing the course of economic growth. Recent World Bank research on the causes of conflict and civil war finds that the countries most likely to be blighted by conflict are those whose economies depend heavily on natural resources. 'Natural Resources and Violent Conflict' first explains the links between resource dependence conflict and then considers what can be done to help reduce the risk of civil war in these nations. In this collection of previously unpublished essays by experts in...

'Gender, Conflict, and Development' was written as an effort to fill a gap between the Bank's work on gender mainstreaming and its agenda in conflict and development. The authors identify a link between gender and conflict issues and provide the most comprehensive review of external and internal sources on gender and conflict, with a particular focus on policy relevance for an institution such as the Bank. The book highlights the gender dimensions of conflict, organized around major relevant themes such as female combatants, sexual violence, formal and informal peace processes, the legal...

'The Other Half of Gender' brings the gender and development debate full circle--from a much-needed focus on empowering women to a more comprehensive gender framework that considers gender as a system that affects both women and men. It draws on a slowly emerging realization that attaining the vision of gender equality will be difficult, if not impossible, without changing the ways in which masculinities are defined and acted upon.