Democracy and Peace Making: Negotiations and Debates 1815-1973 (International Relations & History)


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Democracy and Peace Making is an invaluable and up-to-date account of the process of peace making, which draws on the most recent historical thinking. It surveys the post-war peace settlements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including:* the Vienna congress of 1815
* the Treaty of Versailles
* the peace settlements of the Second World War
* peace talks after the Korean War
* the Paris Peace Accords of 1973.
Democracy and Peace Making: Negotiations and Debates 1815-1973 (International Relations & History) Review
Democracy and Peacemaking analyzes the historically significant post-war peace negotiations over the span of nearly two centuries, beginning with the Vienna Congress of 1815 and ending with the Paris Peace Accords of 1973. Highlighted throughout are the contradictions, struggles, and obstacles peacemakers had to overcome. For example, following the Gulf War in 1991, the United Nations negotiated with Saddam Hussein despite the breach of Iraq's treaty commitments, because they believed "it would have been difficult to find an Iraqi leader more humane who could hold the country together and who would have the support of the Iraqi people." The author contrasts prevailing attitudes with new methods of the time to analyze the rise of the democratic agenda and the effects nationalism and secularization have had on the peacemaking process.What I found fascinating about the book were the historically significant and specific examples given to advance our understanding of the art of negotiations, as well as the political and public influences that tend to prolong disputes among warring nations. Throughout, the author shares a variety of tactics used by negotiators to probe resistance points (e.g., disruptive actions, forming alliances, acting in an aggressive manner, and even taking an exaggerated opening position) and the more common outcomes of conflict resolution that result in parties being locked in a standoff or a conflict trap. For example, initial talks with the North Vietnamese during the early 70's would take weeks just to settle the shape of the table at which negotiators would sit. This epitomized the combative and resistant nature of the talks that ensued. Also, the public-nature of the Vietnam War added yet another dimension to the negotiating process that forced a US exit by the end of 1975 when the congress had voted to completely cutoff funding.
By analyzing the peacemaking process between warring factions, we are better able to appreciate the clarity that comes with understanding, communicating, and knowing the underlying motivations of a conflict. Historically accurate and presented in great detail, the author also does a wonderful job to remind us that our future may very well depend on what we can learn from our past.
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