New Books in Political Science 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 PRIF who studies post–civil war societies, discusses what shapes lasting peace after civil war. He outlines how types of war endings, military vs political power imbalances, fragile ceasefires, and the peacekeeping environment affect recurrence risk. He also highlights implications for policy and future research.
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Civil Wars Are The Central Global Security Problem
- Civil wars are the majority of armed conflicts and cause most fatalities globally.
- Thorsten Gromes notes about 60 conflicts in 2024 with roughly half being intrastate, making recurrence a central peace research problem.
Victory Versus Compromise Frames Postwar Outcomes
- Two dominant views dispute whether stable peace follows military victory or negotiated settlements with compromise.
- Gromes frames the debate and lists post-war choices: external involvement, democratization, dealing with the past, and power-sharing trade-offs.
Convergence Of Political Compromise And Military Power
- Gromes proposes peace endures when political compromise matches military power distribution.
- He tests the hypothesis that divergence between political benefits and military strength predicts recurrence.
