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Despite emerging study of business initiatives that attempt to support local peace and development, we still have significant knowledge gaps on their effectiveness and efficiency. This article builds theory on business engagements for peace through exploration of the Footprints for Peace (FOP) peacebuilding project by the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC). FOP was a business-peace initiative that attempted to improve the lives of vulnerable populations in conflict-affected regions. Through 70 stakeholder interviews, we show how FOP operationalized local peace and development in four conflict-affected departments of Colombia, and examine FNC's motivations for and effectiveness of its peacebuilding activities. Our main finding is that FOP's success supported several existing theories on business engagement in peace both in terms of peacebuilding by business and for local economic and societal development, providing evidence in support of development–business collaborations and local peacebuilding by business under certain targeted circumstances. We relate these findings to existing literature, highlighting where existing business-peace theory is supported, where FOP challenged assumptions, and where it illuminated new research gaps. These findings serve to take business-peace theory forward and improve our understandings of what can constitute success for business-peace initiatives in Colombia and possibly other conflict-affected regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the Oslo Accords, Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed to jointly manage issues of environmental concern according to internationally recognised standards. The purpose of this paper is to qualitatively evaluate the outcomes of the Palestinian-Israeli Oslo environmental peace agreements regarding trans-boundary hazardous waste management. Hazardous waste is an area of particular importance given the potential for inefficient management to impact on public health and shared ecological resources. Although the environmental negotiations that took place within the framework of the Oslo Accords can be seen as a significant milestone for environmental cooperation, many objectives were never achieved. Ultimately, both parties were left with suboptimal trans-boundary management, in practice, because broader political disputes derailed cooperation in many technical spheres. This outcome can be attributed to four main factors: Israeli security concerns, territorial disputes, logistical ambiguities and Palestinian institutional constraints. The outcomes of the environmental agreements challenge neo-functionalist approaches to peacebuilding at the inter-state level. Given the risks environmental concerns pose to both sides, new models are needed that disentangle the management of immediately shared environmental challenges from the ongoing conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing legal policies requires an in-depth understanding of the sociopolitical contexts within which sexual abuse is disclosed. Data presented in this study are based on a larger study of 628 Palestinian Israeli girls aged 14 to 16 years. Of these 628 girls, 28 victims of sexual abuse discussed their abuse with the research team. In addition, interviews were conducted with professional helpers. The contextual analyses of the interviews focused on the way young girls perceived disclosure, social support, and legal intervention to their abuse. Data revealed that the girls' attitudes not only conformed to general findings on disclosure of sexual abuse but also reflected sociopolitical fears and stressors. Helpers struggled between their beliefs that they should abide by the state's formal legal policies and their consideration of the victim's context. The study reveals how decontextualizing child protection laws and policies can keep sexually abused girls from seeking help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]