A heartwarming picture book following a group of boys from different backgrounds throughout the school year as they become the best of friends. Musa's feeling nervous about his first day of school. He's not used to being away from home and he doesn't know any of the other kids in his class. And when he meets classmates Moises, Mo, and Kevin, Musa isn't sure they'll have much in common. But over the course of the year, the four boys learn more about each other, the holidays they celebrate, their favorite foods, and what they like about school. The more they share with each other, the closer they become, until Musa can't imagine any better friends. In this charming story of friendship and celebrating differences, young readers can discover how entering a new friendship with an open mind and sharing parts of yourself brings people together. And the calendar of holidays at the end of the book will delight children as they identify special events they can celebrate with friends throughout the year.

This book is an intellectual contribution of policy scientists and researchers from different academic institutions in different parts of the world. The Arab Spring, the rise of ISIS and terrorism ignite the debate on studying conflict and natural resources. Uniquely, the book discusses the sources of the conflicts and the institutions that are managing the conflicts. The natural resources, defense spending, conflict and human welfare are intertwined. In support of the 'resource curse' hypothesis, the book shows that an abundance of natural resources, particularly oil, encourages an increase in military spending and lower economic growth. In addition, the good economic and political institutions do reduce the hazard of conflict; and strong political institutions for checks and balances appear to weaken the impact of natural resources on conflicts. The book also examines the relationship between defense and social welfare expenditures - specifically, health and education. Shedding light on the complicated nature of the relationship between defense spending, inequality, and types of political and welfare regimes gives us a deeper understanding of the type of democratic systems that will likely improve social welfare. In studying the political economy of defense spending, the book shows the link between public opinion toward defense spending and voters' support for candidates. The analysis shows that party identification or having a vested interest in defense industries do correlate with a preference for increasing defense spending. This book was published as a special issue of Defence and Peace Economics.

This book is an intellectual contribution of policy scientists and researchers from different academic institutions in different parts of the world. The Arab Spring, the rise of ISIS and terrorism ignite the debate on studying conflict and natural resources. Uniquely, the book discusses the sources of the conflicts and the institutions that are managing the conflicts. The natural resources, defense spending, conflict and human welfare are intertwined. In support of the 'resource curse' hypothesis, the book shows that an abundance of natural resources, particularly oil, encourages an increase in military spending and lower economic growth. In addition, the good economic and political institutions do reduce the hazard of conflict; and strong political institutions for checks and balances appear to weaken the impact of natural resources on conflicts. The book also examines the relationship between defense and social welfare expenditures - specifically, health and education. Shedding light on the complicated nature of the relationship between defense spending, inequality, and types of political and welfare regimes gives us a deeper understanding of the type of democratic systems that will likely improve social welfare. In studying the political economy of defense spending, the book shows the link between public opinion toward defense spending and voters' support for candidates. The analysis shows that party identification or having a vested interest in defense industries do correlate with a preference for increasing defense spending. This book was published as a special issue of Defence and Peace Economics.

This edited book explores the link between institutional reforms, governance and services delivery in the Global South, mapping how and to what extent resource-poor governments deliver public services to their citizens. The book concludes that delivery of public services responsibly and efficiently remains largely unachievable because of weaker institutions and poor quality of governance in the Global South countries. Reforms to governance and institutions are generally considered fitting measures to overcome public service delivery challenges.

This edited volume explores the link between natural resources and civil conflict, focusing especially on protest and violence in the context of mining and the extraction of minerals. The primary goal of the book is to analyze how the conflict-inducing effect of natural resources is mediated by inequality and grievances. Given the topicality of the current boom in mining, the main empirical focus is on non-fuel minerals. The work contains large-N studies of fuel and non-fuel resources and their effect on conflict. It presents case studies focusing on Zambia, India, Guatemala, and Burkina Faso, which investigate the mechanisms between the extraction of natural resources and violent conflict. Finally, the book provides a summary of the previous analyses.

This edited volume explores the link between natural resources and civil conflict, focusing especially on protest and violence in the context of mining and the extraction of minerals. The primary goal of the book is to analyze how the conflict-inducing effect of natural resources is mediated by inequality and grievances. Given the topicality of the current boom in mining, the main empirical focus is on non-fuel minerals. The work contains large-N studies of fuel and non-fuel resources and their effect on conflict. It presents case studies focusing on Zambia, India, Guatemala, and Burkina Faso, which investigate the mechanisms between the extraction of natural resources and violent conflict. Finally, the book provides a summary of the previous analyses.

This edited book explores the link between institutional reforms, governance and services delivery in the Global South, mapping how and to what extent resource-poor governments deliver public services to their citizens. The book concludes that delivery of public services responsibly and efficiently remains largely unachievable because of weaker institutions and poor quality of governance in the Global South countries. Reforms to governance and institutions are generally considered fitting measures to overcome public service delivery challenges.