Abstract
From 1988 to 1998, formal peace agreements were signed between combatants in 30+ countries experiencing internal, mainly ethnic, conflicts. This quantity is unprecedented, particularly as most were the result of internally defined initiatives, rather than settlements imposed by external powers. Most of the peace agreements share a remarkably similar structure, focusing mainly on the ending of violence, security arrangements, & the process of political ratification. Tangential, but often key, elements such as human rights legislation, truth commissions, & socioeconomic development appear less frequently. While all the peace accords considered here deal with internal conflicts, international organizations have intervened frequently in a variety of ways -- good offices, contact groups, third-party mediation, multidimensional peace building, & military peacekeeping -- each of which impacts differently on the future of these agreements. Here, analysis of the peace agreements was carried out as a preliminary study for the "Coming out of Violence" project, an in-depth investigation of peace processes involving academic partners in five countries working to a common methodology. It highlights some characteristics of the recent peace processes, & points to possible changes in the way peace may be managed in the future. 1 Table, 25 References. Adapted from the source document.