Peace Time: Cease-Fire Agreements and the Durability of
Peace. By Virginia Page Fortna. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 2004. 264p. $57.50 cloth, $19.95 paper.
At War's End: Building Peace After Civil Conflict. By
Ronald Paris. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 302p. $65.00
hardback, $23.99 paper.
The studies under review focus on the question of what happens once
violence ends. As such, they illuminate an important segment of world
politics that begins once the guns stop roaring. Though different in
theoretical outlook, research orientation, and scientific contribution,
the two studies supplement one another. The first, by Virginia Page
Fortna, investigates the duration of cease-fires while the second, by
Ronald Paris, probes the success of peacekeeping missions. Taken together,
the factors both studies highlight and the conclusions they offer add to
our growing knowledge on intra/interstate wars and peace in world
politics.