Political economy analysis is concerned with the interaction of political and economic processes in a society: the distribution of power and wealth between and among groups and individuals, and the processes that create, sustain and transform these relationships over time. When applied to situations of conflict, crisis and/or transition, political economy analysis seeks to understand both the political and the economic aspects of the situation, their root causes and how these combine to affect patterns of power, advantage, privilege, vulnerability, disadvantage, disparity and/or victimization. A political economy analysis should review a wide historical and geographical context, explain why the relative power, advantage, privilege, vulnerability, disadvantage, disparity and/or victimization of distinct social groups change over time, and explain how the fortunes, misfortunes and related activities of certain groups in society affect others.