"Pro-Peace Entrepreneur" or "Conflict Profiteer"? Critical Perspective on the Private Sector and Peacebuilding in Nepal

Abstract

Focusing on a case study from Nepal, this article argues that as the private sector is a heterogeneous constituency consisting of a variety of actors who can perform in favor of or against peace, generalizing the entire sector as either a builder or spoiler of peace can be deeply misleading. Instead, this article proposes an alternative approach that may help to understand the personal and structural dimensions that make up a business response to peace and conflict. These two dimensions, which can be better understood in terms of a business actor's self-interests, motivations, and the economic incentive structures and mechanisms, are central in shaping businesses' attitudes and responses toward peace and conflict. The personal and structural dimensions may provide an analytical framework that distinguishes between business actors who might want to benefit from political instability and conflict and those who may want to support peace initiatives. In this article, these two categories of the private sector are referred to as "conflict profiteers" and "pro-peace entrepreneurs" respectively. While the business activities of a conflict profiteer may exacerbate conflict dynamics, by contrast a pro-peace entrepreneur can contribute to building peace in Nepal.