ABSTRACT

A burgeoning literature has emerged on the utility of negotiated settlements as a method of terminating civil wars. 1 Negotiated settlements comprise less than one quarter of all civil war endings, 2 but garner the majority of the scholarly attention. Most analysts try to answer questions such as: which factors facilitate negotiated settlements to civil wars? How can such agreements be made to stick once implemented? What types of institutions tend to prevent a reoccurrence of hostilities? How best can third parties assist former combatants to reconcile and share power? Are wars fought over identity issues more or less susceptible to termination by negotiated agreement than those fought over ideological or economic differences?