Since 2003, a research programme at BICC on so-called war economies has aimed to shed light on the specific impact of external economic actors, a diverse group that includes multinationals, (neighbouring) countries, private persons, local firms, etc. on the conflict situation. One of the guiding questions was what constitutes a war economy, and how its structural features differ from a 'normal' situation. Subject to analysis were countries and regions in Sub-Sahara Africa, where a vast number of conflicts occurred in the 1990s. In one way or another, all of these conflicts were related to natural resources. To list a few: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Angola, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were among the cases studied.