Syed Mansoob Murshed has been at the forefront of research in the rational choice approach to conflict. His pioneering work over many years has demonstrated that armed conflict is inseparable from inequality and economic development.

This book brings together Murshed's key economic writings on conflict and includes work on conflict causation, sustaining peace agreements, the relationship of conflict and economic progress, the trade–conflict nexus, the effects of conflict on financial deepening and fiscal capacity, as well as case studies of everyday violence and transnational terrorism. The essays cover both theoretical ideas, critical literature reviews, mathematical modelling, and crossnational and subnational econometric empirical analysis.

The enduring nature of war and conflict and uneven economic outcomes make Murshed's work of lasting significance.