Research Catalog

Title

From stalemate to settlement : lessons for Afghanistan from historical insurgencies that have been resolved through negotiation / Colin P. Clarke and Christopher Paul.

Author

Clarke, Colin P.

Publication

Santa Monica, CA : RAND, [2014]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Paul, Christopher, 1971-
• Rand Corporation, issuing body.
• National Defense Research Institute (U.S.), sponsoring body.

Description

xviii, 73 pages : illustrations; 23 cm

Summary

In June 2013, the Afghan Taliban opened a political office in Qatar to facilitate peace talks with the U.S. and Afghan governments. Negotiations between the United States and the group that sheltered al-Qaeda would have been unthinkable 12 years ago, but the reality is that a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan is one of several possible end games under the current U.S. withdrawal plan. Negotiating an end to an insurgency can be a long and arduous process beset by false starts and continued violence, but a comprehensive review of historical cases that ended in settlement shows that these negotiations followed a similar path that can be generalized into a "master narrative." This research examines 13 historical cases of insurgencies that were resolved through negotiated settlement in which neither side (insurgents or counterinsurgents) unambiguously prevailed. Taken together, these cases reveal that the path to negotiated settlement generally proceeds in seven steps in a common sequence. Although this resulting master narrative does not necessarily conform precisely to every conflict brought to resolution through negotiation, it can serve as an important tool to guide the progress of a similar approach to resolving the conflict in Afghanistan as U.S. forces prepare to withdraw.

Alternative Title

Lessons for Afghanistan from historical insurgencies that have been resolved through negotiations

Subject

• Mediation, International
• Peace-building
• Insurgency > Afghanistan
• Insurgency > History

Genre/Form

History

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Preface -- Introduction -- How to reach a negotiated settlement in counterinsurgency warfare -- Methods: getting to a master narrative -- The master narrative -- Sequences in the individual cases -- Extended example: Northern Ireland, 1969-1999 -- Twelve additional cases of historical insurgency settled through negotiation -- Following the master narrative toward an end game in Afghanistan -- Conclusion.

ISBN

• 9780833082374 (pbk. : alk. paper)
• 083308237X (pbk. : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2014003512

OCLC

869825301

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library