Influencing resolution: External roles in changing the strategic calculus of conflict
Catherine Barnes and Aaron Griffiths (2008)
Leverage is rarely, if ever, sufficient to make peace between adversaries locked in protracted hostilities. Catherine Barnes and Aaron Griffiths focus on how external actors can support a constructive process leading to a mutually acceptable peace agreement - potentially by going beyond hard bargaining strategies to much broader problem-solving approaches. They suggest how external actors should base their strategies on a careful understanding of the decision-making processes of the principal leaders as well as how to influence the wider socio-political context. They also identifies measures that external actors can take at different phases in the transition from war to peace to enhance the effective use of their influence.