Voting to Peace

Since the end of the Cold War the number of civil wars with following peaceand
state-building attempts has significantly increased. In line with the third
wave of democratization theory more and more states try to establish a market
democracy after the end of domestic conflict. But is a rapid transition
with immediate elections really the one best way to end domestic conflict?
Recent examples of Afghanistan and Iraq show that elections are by no
means an endpoint for domestic conflict within war-torn societies, but rather
an accelerator for ethnic violence. Therefore to introduce primarily stable
institutions, like rule of law and a functioning bureaucracy, before organizing
democratic elections, seems to be a more promising strategy. The author
Florian Kunze investigates this hypothesis, first through a quantitative
analysis of 35 cases, and second through an in depth analysis of three case
studies: Namibia, Liberia, and South Africa.
This book addresses researches and students of international relations, politicians,
development workers and military staff faced with state building tasks,
and all other interested in the issue of democratic transition after domestic
conflict.