Investing in Peace: How Development Aid Can Prevent or Promote Conflict. By Robert J. Muscat. Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe. 2002. Contrary to much of contemporary prescriptive literature, Muscat does not automatically assume that economic development is always conflict-reducing. Through a series of case studies and a detailed examination of

Jerald L. Schnoor marvels at the popular Costa Rican greeting of Pura Vida.

The hysteria surrounding SARS has abated, but has it left a legacy by recasting infectious disease as a more central security concern?

This Opinion is an edited version of the keynote speech delivered by Ambassador Van Haren to the Environment UK 2002 Conference hosted by the Environment Agency in October 2002. Further details of the conference at http://www.environmentagency.gov.uk

Remarks by Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World, delivered at the 10th Annual V-Day Celebrations, New Orleans, LA 4:00 pm CDT, Saturday, April 12, 2008.

"Small island communities are among those most vulnerable to the security risks of climate change," writes Larson. The rising oceans create a host of problems, including destruction of farmland, salination of water tables, and coastal erosion. But these individual island communities are teaming up, and "As 'low-power' actors, [they] are

Kai Brand-Jacobson outines some recommendations for various actors and interest groups, including the Joint Control Commission, the EU, the US, the UN, and the Media. Rather than escalating and intensifying this conflict, these groups must realize that a peaceful resolution and a return to dialogue is in everyone's best interest.

La Carpio is a poor community in Costa Rica, nestled against a wealthy enclave of North American and European ex-patriots. Lynn Schneider takes a sobering look at the discrimination and inequalities faced by residents of La Carpio, demonstrating that cultural and structural violence are deeply ingrained, even in a country

The collapse and disintegration of the Soviet Union fundamentally altered the structure of international relations and the expression of violent conflict. Where war was once considered the business of nation states, non-state actors and intrastate wars have come to the forefront of global security concerns. Givi Amiranashvili analyses the legal

Jessica Barran reports on the Crucitas gold mine roundtable, recently held on UPEACE campus. Representatives from Industrias Infinito, the Costa Rican government, two environmental NGOs (FECON and AIDA), and the University of Costa Rica, were all given a chance to clarify their positions and field questions on this controversial issue.