ABSTRACT
The Central American country of El Salvador suffered a 12-year civil war that claimed at least 75,000 civilian lives. The war ended in 1992 following negotiations mediated by the United Nations. El Salvador's conflict was a classic Cold War proxy war, with the United States backing the Salvadoran government against rebels supported by the Socialist Bloc. The key enabling condition was the emergence of a civilian political party with sufficient legitimacy, authority, and autonomy from the military to negotiate seriously with the rebels. In the Salvadoran electoral system, presidential elections occur every five years, while legislative assembly and mayoral polls are every three. The elections of 1994 were particularly foundational because, by coincidence, all levels of government were in play at the same time as the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front was to be incorporated into the electoral system. The Salvadoran peace process demonstrates what multilateral peacekeeping can accomplish under the right combination of international and domestic circumstances.
