This book evaluates the role of international mediators in bringing civil wars to an end and makes the case for ‘powerful peacemaking’ – using incentives and sanctions – to leverage parties into peace. As internal violence within countries is a hugely significant threat to international peace in the post-Cold War era, the question of how these wars end has become an urgent research and policy question. This volume explores a critical aspect of peacemaking that has yet to be sufficiently evaluated: the turbulent period beyond the onset of formal or open negotiations to end civil wars and the clinching of an initially sustainable negotiated settlement. The book argues that the transnational flow of weapons, resources, and ideas means that when civil wars today end, they are more likely to do so at the negotiating table than on the battlefield. It uses bargaining theory to develop an analytical framework to evaluate peace processes – moving from stalemate in wars to negotiated settlement – and it rigorously analyses the experiences of five cases of negotiated transitions from war and the role of international mediators: South Africa, Liberia, Burundi, Kashmir, and Sri Lanka.

As civil wars become forums for international conflicts and ideological rivalries, their containment and resolution is an increasingly important requisite for international peace. This book explores mediation as a means toward resolving such wars. Dr. Assefa argues that the sovereign sensitivities of incumbent governments, the risk of international

Civil wars remain the most frequent and deadly form of organized armed conflict in the world. What Do We Know about Civil Wars? enlists leading scholars to guide students through cutting-edge research on civil war onset, duration, and outcomes, as well as the recurrence and consequences of civil wars to better understand global security.

This comprehensive new Handbook explores the significance and nature of armed intrastate conflict and civil war in the modern world. Civil wars and intrastate conflict represent the principal form of organised violence since the end of World War II, and certainly in the contemporary era. These conflicts have a huge impact and drive major political change within the societies in which they occur, as well as on an international scale. The global importance of recent intrastate and regional conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Nepal, Cote d'Ivoire, Syria and Libya – amongst others – has served to refocus academic and policy interest upon civil war. Drawing together contributions from key thinkers in the field who discuss the sources, causes, duration, nature and recurrence of civil wars, as well as their political meaning and international impact, the Handbook is organised into five key parts: Part I: Understanding and Explaining Civil Wars: Theoretical and Methodological Debates Part II: The Causes of Civil Wars Part III: The Nature and Impact of Civil Wars Part IV: International Dimensions Part V: Termination and Resolution of Civil Wars Covering a wide range of topics including micro-level issues as well as broader debates, Routledge Handbook of Civil Wars will set a benchmark for future research in the field. This volume will be of much interest to students of civil wars and intrastate conflict, ethnic conflict, political violence, peace and conflict studies, security studies and IR in general.

Seminar paper from the year 2023 in the subject Politics - General and Theories of International Politics, grade: 2,0, University of Göttingen (Sozialwissenschaften), course: internationale Beziehungen, language: English, abstract: The aim of this work is to elaborate the meaning of credibility, as defined by Lindsay Reid, in the Colombian peace negotiations and to shed light on the role of the two involved guarantor countries and mediators Cuba and Norway. Therefore, it is important to look at whether and how the mediators fulfill the characteristics for generating credibility leverage, in order to be able to answer the question: In what manner does the credibility leverage of mediators manifest as the Colombian peace process unfolds? For this purpose, sources on mediation and mediator leverage as well as studies reviews on peace negotiations in Colombia will be referenced. It is particularly important to emphasize that this term paper focuses on the process of mediation itself, detached from making judgements about its ultimate success in creating peace in Colombia.

Internal conflicts threaten many countries and regions globally. The first part of this book examines the sources of internal conflicts and the ways these may affect neighbouring states and the international community. The second part covers specific problems, policy instruments and key actors.

Essay from the year 2003 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: 2 (B), University of Kent (Brussls School of International Studies), course: Negotiation and Mediation, language: English, abstract: Since the end of the Cold War the nature and perception of international conflict has changed significantly. Instead of inter-state war, intra-state conflicts now constitute the majority of current conflicts. “Global nuclear warfare is no longer the primary international security concern. It has been displaced by [...] excessively violent and destructive intra-state or internal conflicts.” And these conflicts, which would have been regarded as purely internal matters during the Cold War, are now seen as being of international concern. Civil wars which are normally regionalised, are often nevertheless deemed to be a threat to international peace and security. As a result, the international community has become more and more involved in the resolution of civil wars, often by mediating peace negotiations between the parties involved. However, the resolution of civil war is one the most challenging tasks in Conflict Resolution. Only a minority of negotiations result in a lasting peace and only under exceptional circumstances is this achieved without a third party mediating the negotiations. Although many of the attempts to settle civil wars by mediation have failed, it is clear that the involvement of international mediators makes civil war negotiations more likely to succeed and in some cases indeed helps to find long-term solutions to the conflict.

An Introduction to Civil Wars provides a comprehensive overview of the civil wars that have taken place globally since World War II. A discussion of the human and economic costs of civil war is followed by a systematic examination of all aspects of these conflicts: civil war patterns, types, and causes; the effect of natural resources; conflict duration, outcomes, and termination; peace agreements; counterinsurgency; terrorism; international intervention; and post-conflict issues. Author Karl DeRouen, Jr. draws on the latest empirical research, and pedagogical features -- tables, figures, maps, photos, a comprehensive bibliography, lists of suggested readings, and an Appendix listing all civil wars since 1946 -- make the book an especially useful research tool for undergraduates and graduate students in political science and public policy.

ÔThe Elgar Handbook of Civil War and Fragile States is an impressive volume. Its distinguished contributors offer a rich menu of courses, ranging from conflict and war to peacemaking, transitional justice, peacekeeping, and powersharing. Encyclopedic in its scope, the volume encompasses many different approaches to stimulate and provoke the careful reader. It serves up a feast for scholars and policymakers alike.Õ Ð Donald L. Horowitz, Duke University, US The Elgar Handbook of Civil War and Fragile States brings together contributions from a multidisciplinary group of internationally renowned scholars on such important issues as the causes of violent conflicts and state fragility, the challenges of conflict resolution and mediation, and the obstacles to post-conflict reconstruction and durable peace-building. While other companion volumes exist, this detailed and comprehensive book brings together an unrivalled range of disciplinary perspectives, including development economists, quantitative and qualitative political scientists, and sociologists. Topical chapters include; Post-Conflict and State Fragility, Ethnicity, Human Security, Poverty and Conflict, Economic Dimensions of Civil War, Climate Change and Armed Conflict, Rebel Recruitment, Education and Violent Conflict, Obstacles to Peace Settlements and many others. With detailed and comprehensive coverage, this Handbook will appeal to postgraduate and undergraduate students, policymakers, researchers and academics in conflict and peace studies, international relations, international politics and security studies.

"A project of the International Peace Academy and CISAC, The Center for International Security and Cooperation"--P. ii.