War Termination and the Stability of Peace

How do wars end? Why do some wars end quickly while others go on for years? This course examines some of the issues and challenges pertaining to the causes of, and the conditions associated with, war continuation and termination. How a war terminates has systematic impact not only on the belligerents but also the international (and regional) system. Over the course of the semester, we will survey the major theoretical approaches of war termination and examine how some of the major wars have ended in the past century. In addition, in this course we will also examine how other forms of conflict in the international system, such as civil wars, insurgencies, international rivalries and terrorism, have terminated. Lastly, we will also discuss some of the major issues and policy challenges linked with war termination in the present era. The main objectives of this course are threefold: 1) introduce students to different theoretical approaches and historical cases of conflict termination; 2) gain wide-ranging knowledge on the political and military issues/challenges related to war endings; and 3) provide students with the analytical tools to critically evaluate current policy debates.