ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the conditions under which referendums successfully contribute to peace. The chapter argues that the context, impact, and politics surrounding post-conflict constitutional referendums differ strikingly from sovereignty referendums, and are not included in the universe of cases under analysis. The population of cases under consideration was selected by examining the history of self-determination referendums and plebiscites following civil conflict, beginning at the Peace of Versailles, when the international norm of self-determination and the break-up of empires increased the use of plebiscites for peacemaking. Peacemaking referendums incur three primary risks: referendum-related violence, the risk that the referendum does not appropriately address the stateness problem, and that, therefore, over time the conflict will re-emerge, and the risk that the referendum will fail to progress. Finally, the chapter suggests that peacemaking referendums are a unique and powerful peacemaking tool used to end some of the world's most intractable conflicts.
