Civil wars and foreign powers: external intervention in internal conflicts

We have recently witnessed widespread intervention by the United States and its allies in Europe in the internal conflict in Bosnia and Kosovo. In his book Civil Wars and Foreign Powers: External Intervention in Internal Conflicts, Patrick Reagan systematically answers the question of the conditions under which external actors intervene in civil conflicts to stop fighting. The book draws on data on all civil conflicts since 1945 to identify those conflicts that respond to external interventions, and the types of interventions that are likely to be most successful. Civil Wars and Foreign Powers examines how governments can help facilitate the end of civil conflicts. In a time of increasing intensity and instability, governments need to know which policies work and when. Interventions generally take two forms: unilateral, where one country takes action, and multilateral, such as UN or NATO intervention. This book examines the conditions under which each form of intervention is most likely and effective. The analysis indicates that three conditions associated with multilateral interventions increase their likelihood of success: mutual consent among the parties involved; the integrity of those involved; And the existence of a coherent intervention strategy. Questions are asked from the perspective of the decision maker, and answers are couched in language familiar to the decision maker community. The book combines descriptive case studies with systematic statistical analysis of a unique dataset covering all civil conflicts since World War II, providing contemporary examples to illustrate general trends in the data. In addition to political implications, this work also provides theoretical development on issues of conflict and its management. This book will appeal to students of international conflicts, civil wars, and ethnic conflicts, and those interested in developing policies in the post-Cold War world to deal with internal conflicts.