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The chapter examines the afterlife of peace agreements aimed at ending civil wars in thepost-Cold War era. Assessing the 'success' or otherwise of these agreements is not possiblewithout an appreciation of the context – historical, political, cultural and normative – withinwhich they have been negotiated, concluded and implemented. While context is thus allimportant, the history and fate of peace accords have also been shaped by the content ofindividual agreements, as well as by the manner of their implementation. The record showst hat poorly designed and inadequately supported peace agreements can entrench pre-war patterns of conflict, exacerbate intra-elite competition, and accentuate socio-economic and political grievances within war-torn societies. By contrast, agreements that are properly designed, adequately resourced, and underpinned by constructive political support from parties, regional actors and international sponsors, can strengthen the political forces and dynamics favoring long-term stability and societal transformation towards self-sustaining peace. Peace agreements after civil wars are often best approached as living documents whose flexible and politically informed interpretation can help parties and mediators chart political avenues out of protracted violence.

In this paper we present a model of war between two rational and completely informed players. We show that in the absence of binding agreements war can be avoided in many cases by one player transferring money to the other player. In most cases, the "rich" country transfers part of her money to the "poor" country. Only when the military proficiency of the "rich" country is sufficiently great, it could be that the "poor" country can stop the war by transfering part of its resources to the "rich" country.

In this paper we present a model of war between two rational and completely informed players. We show that in the absence of binding agreements war can be avoided in many cases by one player transferring money to the other player. In most cases, the "rich" country transfers part of its money to the "poor" country. But when the military proficiency of the "rich" country is sufficiently high the "poor" country stops the war by transferring part of its resources to the "rich" country. War cannot be avoided by transfers when inequality of resources is very large or the cost of war is sufficiently low. ; Publicado

Justice and peace are commonly seen as mutually reinforcing, and key international peacebuilding documents stress the importance of human rights. Is this apparent normative shift reflected in post-Cold War peace agreements? The existing literature is divided on this issue but has crucially treated both conflicts and peace agreements as aggregate categories. This article argues that the conflict type and the agreement's 'core deal' impact on the inclusion, or exclusion, of human rights provisions. Based on new coding of the 29 comprehensive agreements signed between 1990 and 2010, it compares agreements signed in territorial and non-territorial conflicts, and agreements with and without territorial autonomy. Qualitative Comparative Analysis is used to examine the different combinations of conditions that led to the inclusion of human rights. The analysis finds that agreements signed in territorial conflicts are significantly less likely to include effective human rights provisions, especially if the settlement includes territorial autonomy. Moreover, such provisions tend to be the result of high levels of international involvement, and the consequent lack of local commitment, or outright resistance, undermines their implementation. These findings point to important trade-offs between group rights and individual rights, and qualifies the notion of a liberal peace.

AbstractEducation has been on the minds of peacemakers since the end of the Cold War, contrary to expectations. An examination of how education is addressed in full and partial post‐Cold War peace agreements shows that education is mentioned in a large number of the agreements. However, the way in which education is addressed and incorporated into peace agreements varies significantly in terms of what is mandated to occur in the education sector after the signing of the peace agreement, including what kind of education will be provided and to whom and how education is viewed in these agreements.

AbstractFor societies transitioning from conflict to peace, the phenomenon of child soldiers poses significant challenges. These include quandaries associated with assisting in the reintegration of serving child soldiers, determining how to prevent future recruitment of child soldiers, and pursuing accountability of those who utilize child soldiers. In addition, questions are also raised as to whether and how child soldiers responsible for crimes committed during conflict are to be held to account. While no one mechanism or response can adequately and sufficiently address the multifaceted issues that arise, peace agreements, as foundational documents that serve as the blueprint for peacebuilding and the post-conflict State, can make a useful contribution to some or all of them. Drawing on all references to child soldiers in 77 peace agreements signed between 1990 and 2022, this article examines the ways in which peace agreements address the issue of child soldiers.

In 2005, there were 31 ongoing conflicts, down by 1 from 2004. Notable for 2005 as well as for the previous year is that, while there were no major fluctuations in the number of conflicts, there were numerous changes when it comes to the conflicts listed. While ten of the conflicts recorded for 2004 were no longer active in 2005, nine conflicts restarted, four with action taken by new rebel groups and five by previously recorded actors. A total of 231 armed conflicts have been recorded since the end of World War II and 121 after the end of the Cold War. In one-third of the conflicts recorded after the Cold War, the conflicting parties have concluded peace agreements, solving, regulating, or deciding the incompatibility. Of the 144 accords, 70% were signed in conflicts over government; many of them were part of a peace process containing more than one agreement. In conflicts over government, the most common provision for resolving the incompatibility was the holding of elections. In conflicts over territory, the agreements often established local governance over the disputed territory.

Suggests that the May 2006 Darfur peace agreement may do little more than obscure the ongoing violence, destruction, displacement, & rape. Three key issues underlying the fragility of the agreement are discussed: the good faith of the Sudan government, the tribal & ethnic character of the insurgencies, & the role of peacekeeping forces where there is no peace.