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Strengthening Peace in Post-Civil War States

Transforming Spoilers into Stakeholders

Among the more frequent and most devastating of conflicts, civil wars—from Yugoslavia to Congo—frequently reignite and even spill over into the international sphere. Given the inherent fragility of civil war peace agreements, innovative approaches must be taken to ensure the successful resolution of these conflicts. Strengthening Peace in Post­–Civil War States provides both analytical frameworks and a series of critical case studies demonstrating the effectiveness of a range of strategies for keeping the peace.

Coeditors Matthew Hoddie and Caroline A. Hartzell here contend that lasting peace relies on aligning the self-interest of individuals and communities with the society-wide goal of ending war; if citizens and groups have a stake in peace, they will seek to maintain and defend it. The rest of the contributors explore two complementary approaches toward achieving this goal: restructuring domestic institutions and soft intervention. Some essays examine the first tactic, which involves reforming governments that failed to prevent war, while others discuss the second, an umbrella term for a number of non-military strategies for outside actors to assist in keeping the peace.


256 pages | 1 line drawing, 3 tables, 1 map | 6 x 9 | © 2010

Political Science: Comparative Politics, Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, and International Relations

Reviews

“The scholarship on display in Strengthening Peace in Post­–Civil War States is impeccable, the data are sound, and the ideas are even better. The essays are well-written and clearly expressed, communicating concepts without jargon. The book broadens and deepens our consideration of the postconflict state-building process, taking an authoritative angle on a hot debate over a topic of core significance.”

I. William Zartman, Johns Hopkins University

“Building peace after civil wars end is one of the crucial security concerns of the day: the topic holds relevance for issues from economic growth to terrorism. This cohesive collection brings together some of the leaders in the field of civil war research, and the book’s framework provides a model that should be emulated by others. The contributors’ scholarship is sound, using case studies and examples that ground their conclusions in reality and practice, and the organization of the book is innovative, rigorous, and interesting.”

Karl DeRouen Jr., University of Alabama

Table of Contents

MATTHEW HODDIE AND CAROLINE A. HARTZELL
ONE / Introduction

PART I : RESTRUCTURING INSTITUTIONS

DAVID A. LAKE
TWO / Building Legitimate States after Civil Wars

PHILIP G. ROEDER
THREE / States and Civil Societies following Civil Wars

SHAHEEN MOZAFFAR
FOUR / Electoral Rules and Post-Civil War Conflict Management: The Limitations of Institutional Design

TIMOTHY D. SISK
FIVE / Sustaining Peace: Renegotiating Postwar Settlements 

PART II : SOFT INTERVENTION

DONALD ROTHCHILD AND NIKOLAS EMMANUEL
SIX / Soft Intervention in Africa: US Efforts to Generate Support for Peace

TERRENCE LYONS
SEVEN / Soft Intervention and the Transformation of Militias into Political Parties

MICHAEL W. FOLEY
EIGHT / Cautionary Tales: Soft Intervention and Civil Society

SUSAN L. WOODWARD
NINE / Soft Intervention and the Puzzling Neglect of Economic Actors

CAROLINE A. HARTZELL AND MATTHEW HODDIE
TEN / Conclusions

List of Contributors
Index

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