Believers, Skeptics, and Failure in Conflict Resolution

Description

This book discusses the following questions: Why are some conflicts so enduring and why is conflict resolution so hard? The author begins by introducing two conflicting perspectives, Skeptics and Believers, to highlight the lack of consensus on conflict resolution. The book further examines the literature on the sources of violent conflict, including ethnic, economic, environmental, and religious sources, and investigates the claim that an absence of knowledge, power, or political will are at the center of conflict resolution failures. By focusing on the problem of state formation, the author demonstrates the ways in which the nature of the state contributes to violent conflict. In the end, conflict resolution fails because individuals, groups, and external powers choose war and often prefer it over peaceful alternatives. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Introduction: The Problem of Conflict Resolution (Ian S. Spears)....Pages 1-14 Perspectives on Conflict Resolution (Ian S. Spears)....Pages 15-47 Sources of Violent Conflict and the Banality of Conflict Resolution (Ian S. Spears)....Pages 49-87 Problems of Knowledge, Power, and Political Will (Ian S. Spears)....Pages 89-137 States, Leaders, Governance, and Why Conflict Resolution Fails (Ian S. Spears)....Pages 139-183 Why Belligerents Choose Conflict over Peace (Ian S. Spears)....Pages 185-231 Back Matter ....Pages 233-241