AVLYST! Beyond the Handshake Moment - Reflections on the Afterlife of Peace Agreements

Peace agreements, it will be argued, cannot by themselves deliver just and lasting peace. Indeed, agreements that are poorly designed and inadequately supported can all too easily end up exacerbating socio-economic and political grievances, further entrenching pre-war patterns of conflict. By contrast, agreements that are properly designed, adequately resourced, and underpinned by consistent and constructive political support from interested parties, regional players and international sponsors, can help strengthen the political forces and dynamics that favour long-term stability and encourage societal transformation towards a deeper, self-sustaining peace. 

The lecture offers a critical assessment of the afterlife of peace agreements following inconclusive civil wars. It is specifically concerned with agreements reached by means of internationally sponsored mediation efforts since the late 1980s. 

Mats Berdal is Professor of Security and Development at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, where he is also the Programme Director for the MA in Conflict, Security and Development, and Director of the Conflict, Security and Development Research Programme (CSDRG). From 2015 to 2016, Berdal served on the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Norwegian Government to examine Norway’s military, humanitarian and development contributions to allied operations in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014.