Full Description
This book addresses one of the most important issues in international relations - how wars are ended.
The volume draws on the direct experience of both soldiers and academics, who in each case have also been advisers on fighting and ending wars. Unlike more theoretical works, the book draws on first-hand experiences in the case studies, which include the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Indonesia, among others. The volume is constructed around a series of themes. The first theme is why wars start and how they can be understood, based on the assumption that knowing how, and why, wars start is fundamental to understanding how they might end. The second is what sustains wars and what makes them difficult to end. Again, once wars start, understanding what keeps them going is critical to how to end them. The third focuses on the role of external intervention in ending wars, including as a belligerent partner in war, as a peacemaking or peacekeeping force, and as a mediator between warring parties. The fourth addresses the issue of 'ripeness' and the right conditions for ending wars. The fifth addresses the modalities for ending wars and creating peace, with the sixth theme being focused on transitions to peace and what is required to help make those transitions successful.
The book will be of interest to students of military, strategic and security studies, peace studies and International Relations.
Contents
Introduction Section I: Why War? 1. The Causes of War—and their Consequences 2. A Typology of Wars and How They End 3. How You Fight a War Matters to How It Ends: A Real-World Contemporary Case Study—Iraq 2016 Section II: Case Studies 4. Libya's Mercenaries Crisis: 'I am here to protect the King of Kings' 5. Indonesia's war against East Timor: How it Ended 6. Ending the Sierra Leone War 7. Peace Processes in Aceh and Sri Lanka: A Comparative Assessment 8. How Wars End: The Case of Afghanistan 9. Some Reflections on the Pursuit of 'Peace' in Afghanistan: 'Never Send to Know for Whom the Wars End' Section III: Alternatives 10. Reflections on the Australian Experience: How Wars End 11. How Major-Power Wars End Section IX: Ways Forward 12. Negotiations to End all Wars 13. Negotiating Peace 14. Endless Wars, Perpetual Peacekeeping? 15. Conclusion
