Contract or war?

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This paper reviews various theoretical debates and discourses to analyze violent conflict and civil wars. It employs an eclectic approach to understand the emergence of institutional arrangements governing property rights in conflict zones. Beginning with a critical examination of the greed versus grievances debate, the paper explores the current discourse on state failure and complex political emergencies, which explain the breakdown of state institutions into anarchic conditions. The new institutionalism perspective theorizes the evolution of institutions as rules of the game, interpreting violent conflict as a form of contractual failure, with a focus on local institutional evolution. The livelihood frame investigates how civilian actors in conflict zones develop survival strategies and utilize social and political capital to stabilize their livelihoods, thereby influencing local institutional arrangements. The conflict transformation approach examines the dynamics of social conflict, distinguishing between interest and identity frames while highlighting the role of emotions in shaping confrontation and conflict processes. Finally, the paper draws preliminary conclusions regarding the implications of these debates for analyzing institutional dynamics and change in civil wars, both prior to, during, and after the conflict.