Why Peace Fails ─ The Causes and Prevention of Civil War Recurrence

Call (international studies, American U.) analyzes causal patterns that explain the recurrence of organized political violence after civil wars seem to have ended. He challenges four dominant trends in postconflict scholarship: the emphasis on economic factors in civil war, the emphasis on international peacekeeping, the focus on state capacity over legitimization, and electoral democracy as the best framework for postwar governance. Organized into three parts, the book starts out explaining why peace fails then moves into several case studies from China, Tibet, Chechnya, Georgia, East Timor, the American Civil War, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Haiti and other sites from around the world. The final section represents the main findings of the book and argues for rethinking peacekeeping and for building legitimacy. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Charles T. Call is an assistant professor in the School of International Studies at American University. He was previously a senior fellow at the US Institute of Peace and is the editor ofBuilding States to Build Peace and Constructing Security and Justice after War. He has conducted research in Afghanistan, West Africa, Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti, Colombia, Chechnya, and Central America.