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Governments often fight multiple civil conflicts simultaneously and each conflict can have multiple groups. Prior research on civil war termination and recurrence has been conducted at either the conflict level, once all the groups have been terminated, or the dyadic level, which examines group terminations in a conflict separately as more or less independent processes. Hence, conflict-level studies mostly tell us how to preserve peace once a civil war has already ended, while dyadic studies mostly tell us about the durability of specific group-level terminations within the larger process that led to that ending. As a result, our understanding of how ongoing civil wars are brought to a close is limited, particularly, with respect to multiparty conflicts. In this study, we put forth a systems approach that treats dyadic terminations as connected processes where group terminations influence the future behavior of other groups, incentivizing the system toward greater aggregate peace or conflict. Analyzing 264 dyadic terminations, the findings suggest that the most effective strategy for governments to reduce systemic conflict is to demonstrate to other groups that they have the political will and capacity to implement security, political, and social reforms as part of a larger reform-oriented peace process. Viable implementation can be followed by the concomitant use of military victories against remaining groups with great success. However, military victories achieved in isolation, that is, outside of a reform-process, do not reduce future levels of conflict even if they themselves are durable.

Zum Jahresende 2019 kontrolliert das Regime unter Präsident Bashar al-Assad zusammen mit Russland und Iran fast drei Viertel des syrischen Staatsgebietes. Trotz andauernder Kämpfe um die letzte Rebellenhochburg Idlib sowie der fragmentierten Gebietskontrolle im Nordosten ist der Krieg in Syrien militärisch entschieden.
Der "Siegfrieden" in Syrien verdeutlicht das Überleben der repressiven und korrupten Assad-Diktatur, die der großen Mehrheit der verbliebenen Bevölkerung weiterhin keine Sicherheit und Lebensperspektive bietet.
Die Kernelite des Regimes besteht momentan aus dem engsten familiären Umfeld des Präsidenten, wozu sein Bruder Maher und seine Ehefrau Asma gehören.
Nach acht Jahren Krieg lassen sich militärische und wirtschaftliche Eliten in Syrien nicht voneinander trennen. Kein Mitglied dieser Eliten kann sich vom Vorwurf freisprechen, nicht zumindest indirekt für die horrenden Menschenrechtsverletzungen mitverantwortlich zu sein.
Obwohl Iran und Russland das Überleben des Regimes im Kriegsverlauf wiederholt abgesichert haben, ist ihr Einfluss auf die syrischen Eliten in jüngster Zeit zurückgegangen.
Der militärische Sieg des Assad-Regimes hat die diplomatischen Möglichkeiten europäischer Staaten weiter verringert. Ein internationales Wiederaufbauprogramm für Syrien verbietet sich in naher Zukunft, da es die existierenden autoritären, kriegsökonomischen Strukturen festigen würde. Im multilateralen Verbund sollte sich Deutschland stattdessen intensiver in angrenzenden Bereichen engagieren. Dazu gehört die verstärkte Dokumentation von Menschenrechtsverletzungen, um zukünftig eine internationale Strafverfolgung zu intensivieren.

Jayatilleka, Dayan, Long War, Cold Peace, Conflict and Crisis in Sri Lanka (Colombo: Vijitha Yapa, 2013). Pp. xii + 508, Price £17.95.

James, P. Conflict and Cohesion: A Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Future Research. Cooperation and Conflict, XXII, 1987, 21-33. This essay contains a reappraisal of empirical research on conflict and cohesion. Behavioral studies of the linkage between domestic and foreign conflict are described in some detail. The consensus of that literature is that internal conflict is externalized only under very restricted conditions. However, in the process of reviewing this research, several important conceptual problems have been identified. Testing has focused on static rather than dynamic manifestations of conflict. Fragmentary indicators have been used to assess conflict at both levels of political interaction, and measurement is further complicated by the question of cross-national validity. In addition, the role of the state and environmental constraints on projection are in need of further exploration. It is recommended that all of these factors be considered in any new model of the conflict nexus that is intended for empirical testing.

"Upturning the traditional view of religion as a source of conflict, this book studies Islamic perspectives of international conflict resolution, re-interpreting the possibility of Israel-Palestine reconciliation beyond traditional secular frameworks. Beginning with an analysis of both classical and modern Islamic texts, the book provides a theoretical overview of Islamic conflict resolution before exploring the Israel-Palestine conflict in its historical, social and political dimensions. This framework allows for a real-world examination of Islamic conflict resolution in the context of Israel-Palestine theological debates. The author also critically assesses differing ideological and political views among Islamic scholars, divided by those supporting and those opposing a peace treaty between Israel and Palestine. Ultimately, it is argued that neglecting religion misses the opportunity to inject the spiritual dimension needed for reconciling the Israelis and Palestinians. The book's multi-disciplinary approach will be of interest to a range of academics and policymakers, including those involved in International Relations and Islamic Studies. However, its accessible prose and engaging content will also appeal to undergraduates and general readers interested in Middle Eastern politics"--

On 28 February 1992, four months after 19 countries and the 4 warring Cambodian factions met in Paris and adopted the agreement on a comprehensive political settlement of the Cambodia conflict, the United Nations Security Council approved the biggest, most expensive and most ambitious peacekeeping operation in U.N. history. The author outlines and highlights the UN's role in Cambodian peace efforts, different dimensions of the Cambodian problem and the benefits of the U.N. peace plan for this country. (DÜI-Sen)

The conflicts in Northern Ireland and Kosovo are among the most important recent conflicts in Europe for the EU's ambition to develop a role and capacity in conflict management. The EU has frequently presented Northern Ireland as a 'model' for conflict management, but it is not clear what the substantive elements of the model are, or whether lessons have been transferred to other cases such as Kosovo. The EU's role in both conflicts is analysed, in particular as regards the impact of its immense funding on peace-building and reconciliation, and how EU capacity in this policy field has developed over the last decade. The tensions and contradictions in EU policy are illustrated in both cases. The article concludes that core features of the model of political accomodation in Northern Ireland are the nature of the consociational institutions, the virtual absence of transitional justice, and the policy acceptance of the segregated social structures. Such lessons are not easily compatible with EU declaratory policy on conflict management. (Ethnopolitics)

The European Union has expanded its role in preventing conflicts and building peace, but its institutional practices remain insufficiently conceptualized. This article argues that, drawing from a strong self‐perception toward a neo‐functionalist interpretation of its own history, the EU uses 'neo‐functional peace' as an approach for resolving protracted disputes, through deconstructing highly political issues into technical meanings in order to achieve mutually acceptable agreements. This article explores the EU's efforts to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia, and examines the reliance on aspects of neo‐functionalism for building peace after protracted disputes. We argue that neo‐functional peace has played a crucial role in normalizing political relations and reconciling some of the outstanding disputes between Kosovo and Serbia. Building on this case study, we suggest a theoretical concept of neo‐functional peace as a useful means to conceptualize the EU's peace support practices.

AbstractAfter a broad overview of the history and the areas of focus of research on language conflict, this article pays particular attention to a number of selected features of societal language conflict. A discussion of the causes, the visibility, the manifestations, the discursive focal points, the management and the outcomes of the management of societal language conflict precedes a sketch of methodological approaches in language conflict research. The snapshot of language conflict research ends with a list of research desiderata.

Presenting original data from interviews conducted in Iraq between 2013 and 2019, this paper charts the evolution of conflict related narratives of the 'other' among members of the Sunni confession immediately prior to, during, and after the rise and fall of the Islamic State (IS). It charts the evolution of these narratives through three escalatory phases (victimhood narratives, divisive narratives, and violent narratives) and three de-escalatory phases (nuanced narratives, reconciliatory narratives, and unifying narratives). It concludes with reflections on the lessons this case can provide for identifying the best moments for Conflict Resolution actors to intervene in such violent conflicts.