Wars, guns and votes - Paul Collier

* InWars, Guns and Votes, award-winning author Paul Collier investigates theviolence and poverty in the countries at the bottom of the world economythat arehome to a billion people.

* A highly-regarded economist and expert on developing countries, Collier argues that the spread of elections and peace settlements in the world's most volatile countries may lead eventually to abrave new democratic world. In the meantime, though, nasty and protractedcivil wars,military coups, andfailing economieswill plague the bottom billion - unless national sovereignty is curtailed and economic disciplines introduced.

* Through innovative research and astute analysis, Collier providesan eye-opening assessmentof the ethnic divisions and insecurity in the developing countries of Africa, Latin America, and Asia where the democratic process so often fails.

* There have been many policy failures by the United States, the UK and other developed countries since the end of the Cold War, especially the reliance on pre-emptive military intervention, but Collier insists that these problems can and will be rectified.He persuasively outlines what must be done to bring long-term peace and stability.