Social Sciences, Diplomacy, General, War & Peace, Political Freedom 

In recent years the terms ‘Genocide’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’ have not only re-entered the common vocabulary; they seem now to be tolerated and accepted as the ‘inevitable’ consequences of war. But as yet there is no globally accepted structure through which conflict can be tackled. How should we as individuals, as nations and as an international community respond to conflict?
Civil Wars, Civil Peace offers a radical new approach to conflict prevention, revolution and diplomacy. Kumar Rupesinghe provides an overview of conflict in the post-Cold War World, covering key topics such as identifying and assessing early warnings of conflict, and need to take early action; information gathering and analysis and the need for preventive diplomacy. In particular, the role of non-governmental organisations and other third- party mediators in conflict resolution is considered.
Kumar Rupesinghe is Secretary-General of International Alert, a leading non-governmental organisation working in the area of conflict resolution.
 

In recent years the terms 'genocide' and 'ethnic cleansing' have not only re-entered our vocabulary, but seem to be accepted as the 'inevitable' consequences of the conflicts that continue to plague the world's landscape. Yet there is still no globally accepted structure through which conflict can be tackled. The first introductory guide to a topic of increasingly vital importance, this book offers a radical new approach to conflict prevention, resolution and diplomacy. Designed for students as well as practitioners and peace negotiators, it provides an overview of conflict in the post-Cold War world, covering key topics such as identifying and assessing early warnings of conflict, the need to take early action, information gathering and analysis; and the need for preventive diplomacy. - from Amzon 

Table of Contents:

Introduction......................................................................................P. 1
1. Beyond the Civil War..................................................................P. 7
From World Order To Disorder………………………………………................P. 7
The Colonial Legacy………………………………………………….....................P. 8
The Resurgence of Religion……………………………………………................P. 10
Poverty, Expectations and Structural Adjustment…………………….......P. 11
The Proliferation of Weapons and the Privatisation of Security……….P.13
The Humanitarian Crisis and the Cost of War……………………….........…P.15
A Step into the Past: The United Nations and Prevention of War…….P. 17
Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s Agenda for Peace……………………………...................P. 17
The Cost of Failure……………………………………………………...............................P. 21
The UN’s Renewed Attempts…………………………………………...........................P. 21
‘We the People….’…………………………………………..........................................P. 22

2. Characteristics of Internal Conflicts..................................................P. 25
Introduction..................................................................……………P. 25
When Does a Conflict Turn into a War?.........................................P. 25
From Social Grievances to Armed Conflict……………………….................P. 27
Asymmetrical Nature of Contemporary Warfare……………………............P. 30
A typology of Conflict……………………………………………….........................P.31
The Changing Nature of Contemporary Warfare……………………............P. 51
The Intractable Nature of Internal Conflicts………………………….............P. 56
Conclusion…………………………………………………………….............................P. 58
3. From Early Warning to Early Action.....................……………………………………P. 59
Introduction…………………………………………………………...............................P. 59
The Continuum of Conflict………………………………………..........................…P. 61
From Civil Peace to Civil War……………………………………............….............P. 63
Sounding the Alarm –Devising a System for Early Warning…..........…….P. 66
Information Gathering………………………………………………............................P. 66
Information Analysis…………………………………………………............................P. 76
Responding Appropriately……………………………………………..........................P. 78
Reasons for Failure-Lessons from Early Warning……………………...............P. 79
Generating Early Action………………………………………………..........................P. 82
Taking Action…………………………………………………………...............................P. 85
A Range of Options……………………………………………………............................P. 87
Sceptics and Critics……………………………………………………............................P. 92
Conclusion…………………………………..………………………................................…P. 95

4. The Diplomacy Continuum……………………………………………….........….P. 96
Introduction…………………………………………………………….................P. 96
Traditional Diplomacy Through the Ages……….…………….…….. ...P. 97
Collective security-General Assemblies and Princely Leagues..P. 99
The Birth of Modern ‘Open’ Diplomacy………………………………......P. 101
The United Nations………………………………………………….................P. 102
Constraints of the United Nations……………………………………...........P. 106
Pitched into a New Era- UN’s Recent Developments………………….P. 108
What Alternatives Exist? Non-State Actors………………………...…..…P. 108
Basic Observations on Third Party Intervention………………………...P. 112
Burden-Sharing……………………………………………………...................…P. 113
Multi-track Diplomacy……………………………………………….................P.135
Third party NGO Intervention-The Decision to Engage………….….P.126
Complementary Initiatives Through Conflict Phases………..………….P. 133
Evaluations and Effectiveness…………………………………………............P. 135
Conclusion…………..……………………………………………….....................…P.136.

5. Ending Warfare, Creating Accountability………………………………............P. 138
Introduction……………………………………..........................................P. 138
Strategies for War Termination………………..................................P. 139
Generating Accountability………………………...................................P. 144
Waging War: The Less Attractive Alternative…………..................…P. 155
Conclusion………………………………………………….................................P. 156