Research

Publications

Peer Reviewed Academic

With Santiago Sosa, Elisa D’Amico,Michael Clausen, Nelly Kibet, Sofía Montoya, and Dale Pankhurst

The Missing Peace approaches the process of effective ex-combatant reintegration, conflict resolution, sustainable peacebuilding, and state building from a local perspective. Effectively preventing armed conflict in fragile and conflict affected areas requires innovative approaches that create opportunities for legal commerce, which can in turn transform the local social, political, and economic structures. We compare DDR processes that build ex-combatant skills to programs that push resources into a community. Since aid and grant programs focus on national challenges rather than local needs, we expect local processes to prevent recidivism more successfully. As there are specific conditions that enable entrepreneurial activities, we first explore the conditions that enable small businesses and entrepreneurs to flourish. We then consider the link between entrepreneurship and recidivism and long-term consequences of these activities. 

After presenting our theoretical argument, we examine the business environments, considering how peace agreements create a national framework for local peace.  We explore peace agreement terms and rates of violence in a large N analysis. We find that countries with more detailed peace agreements that support the transition process are less likely to experience violence and civil war.

The Missing Peace then examines the micro-foundations at work in three quantitative case studies. Examining the reintegration of Colombia’s FARC ex-combatants offers a case study for understanding how veterans use various tools to return to civilian life, as there have been resources pushed into communities as well as skill-focused employment programs. Northern Ireland offers a case with only limited efforts to reintegrate former combatants, and significant outside resources pushed into communities. We then consider the case of urban violence in the United States, looking at corporations, small businesses, and local community organizations in Chicago. The project draws from field interviews and quantitative evidence of entrepreneurship rates and the larger societal and governmental impacts. We also code data from news sources and business licensing information to understand the frequency and characteristics of entrepreneurship activities.

The Missing Peace is especially timely, given that international organizations are increasingly calling on businesses, local organizations, and government agencies to proactively engage in collaborative and practical action to advance peace. We approach this topic from a new angle: how do new businesses, begun by ex-combatants, help to create peace? This research will be of interest to academics and policymakers alike. The findings will generate evidence useful for DDR programs in post-conflict societies, as well as communities concerned with local violence.  

"Private goods for peace: Economic provisions of peace agreements and the durability of peace" Elisa D’Amico, Santiago Sosa, and Molly M Melin, Journal of Peace Research, 2025, DOI: 10.1177/00223433251345382.  https://doi.org/10.1177/00223433251345382

“War and International Business: Insights from Political Science” Molly Melin, Andres Calle, Santiago Sosa, and Ivan Montiel. 2023. AIB Insights 23(1). (Link: https://insights.aib.world/article/68323-war-and-international-business-insights-from-political-science)

Abstract: How might businesses foster peace? We borrow insights from political science on the causes of war to guide IB scholarly research. We analyze war as a bargaining failure and present five causes of war (unchecked authority, intangible incentives, uncertainty, commitment problems, and misperceptions). We then identify business-for-peace initiatives (modifying incentives for war and peace, ex-combatant demobilization and reintegration, providing information, mediation and track-two diplomacy, peace guarantees, and community engagement) and propose research questions for each. Our work has important implications for IB scholars conducting research on firms operating in conflict-prone environments.

The Building and Breaking of Peace: Corporate Activities in Civil War Prevention and Resolution. Molly Melin. 2021. Oxford University Press. (Link: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-building-and-breaking-of-peace-9780197579367?cc=us&lang=en&)

Description: Private corporations are rarely discussed as playing a role in efforts to curb civil violence, even though they often have strong interests in maintaining stability. Violence often damages the infrastructure necessary to deliver goods to market or may directly target companies. Corporations also have a normative obligation to conduct business in ways that promote peace. While there are historical examples of firm-instigated violence and firms reaping benefits from instability and conflict, there is also evidence that corporations proactively engage in peacebuilding. For example, firms devise programs to promote economic development, offer access to education, and employ former combatants.

In The Building and Breaking of Peace, Molly M. Melin develops a theory of the conflicting roles corporations play in both building and preventing peace. Melin shows that corporations engage in peacebuilding when there is a gap in the state's capacity to enforce laws, but they also weigh the opportunity costs of peacebuilding, responding to the need for action when conditions enable them to do so. Firms are uniquely situated in their ability to raise the cost of violence, and proactive firms can increase the years of peace in a country. At the same time, an active private sector can make it harder for states with ongoing conflict to reach an agreement, as they act as an additional veto player in the bargaining process.

Including original cross-national data of peacebuilding efforts by firms in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa from 2000 to 2018, and in-depth case analyses of corporate actions and outcomes in Colombia, Northern Ireland, and Tunisia, Melin shows that corporations help to prevent violence but not resolve it. In examining the corporate motives for peacebuilding and the implications of these activities for preventing violence and conflict resolution, the book builds a more holistic picture of the peace and conflict process. The findings also help explain why armed civil conflicts persist despite the multitude of diverse actors working to end them.

“The Business of Peace: Understanding Corporate Contributions to Conflict Management.” Molly Melin. 2021. International Interactions 47(1) 107-134. (Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03050629.2020.1723581)

ABSTRACT: Do private firms act beyond “business as usual” and proactively build peace? Firms are largely absent from the conflict management literature, despite studies suggesting their importance. What conditions encourage firms to actively prevent or resolve violent conflict? Are such actions interdependent with ongoing international conflict prevention and management efforts? I argue international efforts encourage corporate conflict management-related activities since conflict management interdependencies can decrease the costs of conflict management, while increasing the benefits and success of their efforts. In addition, firms respond to gaps in governance and instability, especially when they are norm entrepreneurs or their reputation is threatened. I test these arguments on original cross-national data of conflict management-related efforts by large, domestic firms in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa from 1999–2013. The findings bring large-N empirical analysis to a topic dominated by case studies and 

emphasize the need for conflict management scholars to account for the role of the private sector in our studies.

“Business, Peace and World Politics: The Role of Third Parties in Conflict Resolution.” Molly Melin. 2016. Business Horizons: 59(5): 493-501. (Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0007681316300143)

Abstract: With the growing role of the private sector in global politics comes increasing challenges and opportunities, an example of which is conducting business in pre- and post-conflict environments. While the extant business literature discusses the work these actors can do to reduce tensions in conflict zones, the role of these actors is notably absent in studies of conflict resolution. In this article, I offer an overview of the findings on conflict resolution processes by scholars in the field of political science. I then draw from business scholarship and offer an overview of the positive contributions the private sector can and does make toward peace. I conclude by highlighting the problems of having disjointed approaches and offering a conceptual framework for how these distinct approaches can be combined to generate a more comprehensive understanding of conflict resolution.

OpEds & Policy

“CEOs Beware: “Feel Good” Isolation of Russia Might Make Things Worse.” War on the Rocks. April 11^th, 2022. (Link: https://warontherocks.com/2022/04/ceos-beware-feel-good-isolation-of-russia-might-make-things-worse/)”

Ongoing Research

Question: How might Chicago learn from international conflict resolution efforts?

“Violence and Peacebuilding in Chicago” (Molly Melin and undergraduate student Michael Claussen). Working paper.

Question: How might firms encourage negotiations in civil wars?

“MNCs and Peacemaking: The Role of Private Firms in Civil War Negotiations” (Molly Melin with LUC graduate student Mihir Modi and EAFIT Medellín’s Santiago Sosa) forthcoming in Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.

Question: How can non-profits, community organizations, and international organizations promote peace?

“Civil Society & Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland and Senegal” (Molly Melin with Queen’s University Belfast graduate student Dale Pankhurst and EAFIT Medellín’s Santiago Sosa) working paper.

“International Organizations, Firms, and Peace Agreements.” Alexandru V. Grigorescu and Molly M. Melin.

“Post conflict entrepreneurs in Colombia and Northern Uganda” (Molly Melin with Kenyan researcher Nelly Kibeto and EAFIT Medellín’s Santiago Sosa and Sofia Montoya).

Question: How do opportunities to start businesses encourage transitions to peace and legal commerce?

“The Missing Peace: Understanding Entrepreneurship in Conflict Prevention and Resolution” (Molly Melin). Data collection and book manuscript.

“Economic Reintegration in Treaties and Peace Outcomes” (Molly Melin with LUC graduate student Elisa D’Amico and EAFIT Medellín’s Santiago Sosa). Working paper.

Question: How might businesses build peace in diverse settings?

“Business and conflict in a multi-ethnic context - the case of Indonesia" (Alexandru V. Grigorescu and Ratri Istania). Working paper.

Question: How can corporations fight corruption amidst natural resources?

“The impact of corruption on the relationship between PE & P - the case of the DRC." (Alexandru V. Grigorescu and Toussant Kafahire). Working paper.”