
New Books Network Thorsten Gromes, "Sustaining Peace After Civil War: Insights from 48 Recent Cases" (Springer, 2026)
Apr 8, 2026
Thorsten Gromes, project leader and senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt focused on post‑civil war societies. He discusses why civil war recurrence matters. He explains his dataset and methods. He explores how the fit between military power and political compromise shapes lasting peace. He evaluates ceasefires, peacekeeping, and what practical choices help sustain peace.
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Civil War Recurrence Drives Global Conflict Trends
- Civil wars are the majority of wars and cause most fatalities worldwide, making recurrence a central research concern.
- In 2024 about half of ~60 ongoing armed conflicts were recurring civil wars, so preventing recurrence explains much of global conflict patterns.
Victory Versus Compromise Are Complementary Paths
- Two prominent end-of-war logics compete: peace by military victory and peace by negotiated compromise like power sharing.
- Other postwar choices (democratization, addressing the past, external involvement) shape whether termination yields lasting peace.
Convergence Of Political Benefits And Military Power Matters
- Stable peace is likelier when the political distribution of benefits aligns with the military balance at war's end.
- Divergence between postwar political compromise and military power tends to increase risk of recurrence, though support is limited.





