Managing War-to-Peace Transitions after Intra-State Conflicts: Configurations of Successful Peace Processes

Abstract

Examining 50 intra-state peace processes (1989–2006) through fsQCA, we identify three clusters of peace agreements being consistently associated with successful war-to peace transitions: ‘an international approach’, ‘a transitional justice approach’, and ‘a domestic approach’. Probing these configurations at the case level shows that successful peace processes typically include packages of provisions which trigger both cost-increasing and fear-reducing mechanisms; that transitional justice provisions and education reform can trigger cost-increasing mechanisms; and that territorial self-governance can substitute effectively foreign involvement in separatist conflicts.