A theory of democratisation through peace-building. Issue 4 (4th July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zürcher, Christoph
• Is Part Of: Conflict, security & development. Volume 18:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 283
• Page End: 299
• Publication Date: 2018-07-04
• Subjects: Domestic elites -- external actors -- interaction -- peace-building -- post-conflict democratisation; Security, International -- Periodicals; Pacific settlement of international disputes -- Periodicals; Economic development -- Periodicals; World politics -- 1989- -- Periodicals; 322.5
• DOI: 10.1080/14678802.2018.1483559
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1467-8802

Abstract

Abstract: This contribution presents a theory of democratisation through peace-building. Peace-building is seen as an interactive process between external peace-builders and domestic elites; whether a post-war state develops into a democracy or not depends to a large extent on the outcome of the bargaining process between domestic elites and peace-builders. It is argued that domestic elites typically face many constraints which make adopting democratic reforms a risky and costly proposition. Also, peace-builders usually have much less leverage over domestic elites than one would expect given their resources and man-power. High adoption costs and low leverage explain the outcome of the interaction between peace-builders and domestic elites often results in a peace which is not democratic. The paper uses an analysis of 19 major peace-building missions for exemplifying the theory.