Books

Peacekeeping in Sierra Leone: The Story of UNAMSIL, by ’Funmi Olonisakin (Lynne Rienner, 2008). The first in a series of “inside” histories, Peacekeeping in Sierra Leone relates how a small country—one insignificant in the strategic considerations of the world powers—propelled the United Nations to center stage in a crisis that called its very authority into question; and how the UN mission in Sierra Leone was transformed from its nadir into what is now widely considered one of the most successful peacekeeping missions in UN history. For more information or to purchase, click here.


Building States to Build Peace, edited by Charles T. Call and Vanessa Wyeth (Lynne Rienner 2008) How can legitimate and sustainable states best be established in the aftermath of civil wars? What role should international actors play in supporting these vital processes? Addressing these questions, this IPI volume explores the core challenges involved in institutionalizing postconflict states. The combination of thematic chapters and in-depth case studies covers the full range of the most vexing and diverse problems confronting domestic and international actors seeking to build states while building peace. For more information or to purchase, click here.


Civil War and the Rule of Law: Security, Development, Human Rights, by Agnés Hurwitz with Reyko Huang (Lynne Rienner 2008) How do rule of law programs contribute to conflict management? What strategies best address the challenges to securing the rule of law in fragile countries? What place do rule of law policies have in efforts to achieve stable and equitable development? This book addresses these fundamental questions, analyzing rule of law programs in the context of conflict prevention, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding activities. For more information or to purchase, click here.



Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts?, by Stewart Patrick and Kaysie Brown (International Peace Academy, 2007) Promoting security, good governance and recovery in weak, failing and war-torn countries requires integrated approaches. In response, many donors are adopting strategies that bring together their diplomatic, defense, and development instruments. This book examines how these trends are playing out in seven leading donor countries, candidly addressing the shortcomings in recent efforts to achieve joined-up responses in fragile states. For more information or to purchase, click here.



Iraq: Preventing a New Generation of Conflict, edited by Markus E. Bouillon, David M. Malone & Ben Rowswell ( Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2007). This book seeks to move the debate on Iraq toward a consideration of how Iraqis, with the help of the international community, can build an inclusive and enduring social contract amongst themselves. The volume analyses the drivers of conflict and outlines the requirements – and obstacles in the way – of a successful peace-building enterprise in a country that has endured domestic upheavals, but also generated threats to international peace and security, for more than a generation. The authors argue that a downward spiral of violence and possible state collapse can be avoided – but that much needs to be done to achieve these aims. For more information, click here.




The UN Secretariat: A Brief History, by Thant Myint-U and Amy Scott (International Peace Academy, 2007) This volume aims to provide a concise history of the UN Secretariat as a much needed background for more informed debate about this under-researched, poorly understood, yet critically important part of the UN system. For more information or to purchase, click here.

The International Struggle Over Iraq: Politics in the UN Security Council, 1980-2005, by David M. Malone (Oxford University Press, 2006) Drawing on unparalleled access to UN insiders, this book is essential to understanding the various roles played by the world’s central peace-making forum in one of the most persistent crises in international affairs.For more information, click here.

Aiding Peace? The Role of NGOs in Armed Conflict, by Jonathan Goodhand (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006) As non-governmental organizations play a growing role in the international response to armed conflict – tasked with mitigating the effects of war and helping to end the violence – there is an acute need for information on the impact they are actually having. Addressing this need, Aiding Peace? explores just how NGOs interact with conflict and peace dynamics, and with what results.For more information, click here.

Sudan: The Elusive Quest for Peace, by Ruth Iyob and Gilbert M. Khadiagala (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006)
This concise volume examines the cultural, sociopolitical, economic, and geographic facets of the prolonged hostilities that have embroiled Sudan since its independence. With great care, the authors address both the internal grievances that fuel the current conflict in Darfur, and the failure of regional and international actors to fully come to terms with the complexities of the issues involved. For more information, click here.

The Iraq Crisis and World Order: Structural, Institutional and Normative Challenges, Edited by Ramesh Thakur and Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu (United Nations University Press, 2006). The Iraq war was a multiple assault on the foundations and rules of the existing UN-centered world order. It called into question the adequacy of the existing institutions for articulating global norms and enforcing compliance with the demands of the international community. The United States has global power, soft as well as hard; but the United Nations is the fount of international authority. Progress towards a world of a rules-based, civilized international order requires that US force be put to the service of lawful international authority. This book examines the major normative and structural challenges to this order from a number of different perspectives. For more information, click here.

The Democratic Republic of Congo: Economic Dimensions of War and Peace, by Michael Nest with Francois Grignon and Emizet F. Kisangani (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006). Despite the prominent role that competition over natural resources has played in some of Africa’s most intractable conflicts, little research has been devoted to what the economic dimensions of armed conflict mean for peace operations and efforts to reconstruct war-torn states. Redressing this gap, this book analyzes the challenges that the war economy posed, and continues to pose, for policymakers and practitioners in the DRC. For more information, click here.

Western Sahara: Anatomy of a Stalemate, by Erik Jensen (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004) The long-running conflict over the sovereignty of Western Sahara has involved all the states of northwest Africa and many beyond since Spain ceded the territory to Morocco and Mauritania in 1976. Erik Jensen traces the evolution of the conflict—from its colonial roots to its present manifestation as a political stalemate.
Jensen reviews the history of the dispute, describes the quest by the UN and interested states to facilitate a process of self-determination through a referendum on independence versus integration with Morocco, and explores the impasse over how to determine who should be allowed to vote in such a referendum. He then turns to the more recent efforts of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s personal envoy for Western Sahara, James Baker, to resolve the conflict. Despite Baker’s 2003 peace plan, the government of Morocco and the Polisario Front remain at odds, and the stalemate continues. For more information, click here.

Security Dynamics in Africa’s Great Lakes Region, edited by Gilbert M. Khadiagala. A project of the International Peace Institute ( formerly International Peace Academy ) (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006). The site of genocide in Rwanda, recurrent cycles of communal massacre, deepening poverty, state fragmentation, and massive displacement of civilians, is Africa’s Great Lakes region finally moving away from decades of decay and destruction, or is it fated to remain mired in interminable strife? The authors of this volume explore the sources of conflict in the region as well as local and international attempts to rebuild political authority and reduce the scale of human suffering. For more information, please click here.

Kashmir: New Voices, New Approaches, edited by Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu, Bushra Asif, and Cyrus Samii. A project of the International Peace Institute ( formerly International Peace Academy ) (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006). Uniquely representing all sides in the conflict over Kashmir, this innovative new book provides a forum for discussion not only of existing proposals for ending the conflict, but also of possible new paths toward settlement. Contributors from India, Pakistan, and Kashmir explore the subnational and national dimensions of the ongoing hostilities, the role of the international community, and future prospects. The result is an informed overview of the present state of affairs – and a realistic examination of the potential for peaceful resolution. For more information, please click here.

Profiting from Peace: Managing the Resource Dimensions of Civil War, edited by Karen Ballentine and Heiko Nitzschke. A Project of the International Peace Institute ( formerly International Peace Academy ) (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005). In contemporary civil wars, combatants’ access to lucrative natural resources has been both a means and a motive for armed conflict and thus has often served to counter incentives for peace. Profiting from Peace offers the first comprehensive assessment of practical strategies and tools that might be used by both international and state actors to help reduce the illicit exploitation of natural resources and the related financial flows that sustain violence. For more information, please click here.

Conflict and Collusion in Sierra Leone by David Keen. A Project of the International Peace Institute ( formerly International Peace Academy ) (James Currey Publishers, 2005). The conventional diplomatic approach to Sierra Leone’s civil war is that it has been a contest between two clearly defined sides. This book demonstrates that this is not the case: the various armed groups were fractured throughout the 1990s, often colluded with one another, and had little interest in bringing the war to an end. For more information, please click here.

East Africa and the Horn: Confronting Challenges to Good Governance, edited by Dorina Bekoe. A Project of the International Peace Institute ( formerly International Peace Academy ) (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005). Both the obstacles to governance and the opportunities for democratization confronted in East Africa-with its geostrategic importance, porous borders, governments heavily dependent on foreign aid, and some of Africa’s longest-running conflicts-provide valuable insights into how good governance policies can be implemented effectively throughout the developing world. This book explores these regional constraints and opportunities, focusing on issues of civil society, the ubiquitous trade in small arms and light weapons, large numbers of refugees, tensions around national identity and the legacy of US policy. For more information, please click here.

Exploring Subregional Conflict: Opportunities for Conflict Prevention, Chandra Sriram and Zoe Nielsen, eds. Project of the International Peace Institute ( formerly International Peace Academy ) (Lynne Rienner Publishers, August 2004). The causes of violent conflict, as well as approaches to conflict prevention have been studied extensively, but only recently has attention been given to the subregional dynamics of internal wars. The authors of this original collection of subregional case studies explore conflicts in Africa, Central Asia and Central America, seeking new insights that can provide the foundation for more nuanced, more effective preventive strategies. For more information, please click here.

West Africa’s Security Challenges: Building Peace in a Troubled Region, edited by Adekeye Adebajo and Ismail Rashid. A Project of the International Peace Institute ( formerly International Peace Academy ) (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004). The authors provide a context for understanding the region’s security dilemmas, highlighting the link between failures of economic development, governance, and democratization on the one hand, and military insecurity and violent conflicts on the other. The role of key regional and external actors in foiling – and sometimes fueling – conflicts is also examined. For more information, please click here.

The UN Security Council, edited by David M. Malone. A Project of the International Peace Institute ( formerly International Peace Academy ) (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004). “Encyclopedic in scope and authoritative in analysis…. everyone who cares about the future role of the United Nations and the international rule of law will want to read this book.” — John G. Ruggie, Harvard University. For more information, please click here.

Nation-Building Unraveled? Aid, Peace and Justice in Afghanistan, edited by Antonio Donini, Norah Niland and Karin Wermester. A project supported by the International Peace Institute ( formerly International Peace Academy ). Using Afghanistan as a pivot, this book illustrates how emerging international “ordering” practices affect the role and policy of international actors such as United Nations agencies and international NGOs, their interaction with national authorities and local communities, and their ability to generate just and social outcomes. For more information, please click here.

For information on Books & Occasional Papers published prior to 2004, please visit our Archive Section.