The special issue proposes "urban peace" as a way of thinking about policy responses to the dynamics of crime, violence, and exclusion that are associated with illicit economies. This approach builds on the notions of connectedness, proximity and trust between individuals, different segments of...

In post-revolution Libya, the proliferation and trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) became pervasive due to the ongoing political and armed conflict that succeeded the fall of Qaddafi. The continuing state of insecurity and weakness of central state authorities has led local and...

Scholarship identified the present and future of war as increasingly characterized by urbanization and political-economic actors that Western international assistance defines as "illicit", "illiberal" or "criminal". This article asks how Western international assistance could and should shape...

This article asserts the importance of public participation in local government, through social action research, in order to achieve good governance. We examine how bad local governance negatively impacts the socio-economic development trajectory of communities. Based on fieldwork conducted in...