Overview

Civil wars vary greatly in their duration. This book argues that conflicts are longer when they involve more actors who can block agreement (veto players) and identifies specific problems that arise in multi-party bargaining. Quantitative analysis of over 200 civil wars since World War II reveals that conflicts with more of these actors last much longer than those with fewer. Detailed comparison of negotiations in Rwanda and Burundi demonstrates that multi-party negotiations present additional barriers to peace not found in two party conflicts. In addition, conflicts with more veto players produce more casualties, are more likely to involve genocide and are followed by shorter periods of peace. Because they present many barriers to peace, the international community has a poor track record of resolving multi-party conflicts. David Cunningham shows that resolution is possible in these wars if peace processes are designed to address the barriers that emerge in multi-party conflicts.

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9781107416635

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Reviews

'In this excellent book, David Cunningham breathes new life into the well-worn topic of civil war duration. The book shines as an example of a compelling combination of sophisticated quantitative analyses with extremely well conceived qualitative narratives of actual cases.' Douglas Lemke, Pennsylvania State University 'This is an elegant, insightful, and well-argued book with direct implications for managing civil conflict today. It is an important contribution to conflict studies that should be read closely by scholars and practitioners alike.' David A. Lake, University of California, San Diego 'Barriers to Peace in Civil War offers a rich theoretical argument, employing sophisticated statistical analysis and detailed case studies with profound policy implications.' Scott Gates, Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO and Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Author Information

David E. Cunningham is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Iowa State University.

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