Peace Agreement Implementation (PAI): What Matters? A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Objective/Context: Much of the research on conflict resolution has focused on the conditions for getting parties involved in a conflict to sign a peace agreement. Less attention has been paid to what happens next. In this document, we offer a review of the factors shaping peace agreement implementation (PAI). Methodology: The paper is based on a review of the available academic literature on the factors that shape peace agreement implementation (PAI). Conclusions: We conceive the implementation process as composed of multiple temporal stages (short- to long-term), layers (from international to local), and dimensions (including politics, justice, the economy, and culture). In an implementation phase, all these need to be addressed in parallel, as they exert mutual impact and shape each other’s progress. Originality: The general overview presented here will provide scholars and policymakers with a broad sense of the most important debates within the literature.

Keywords

• peace agreement
• implementation
• peacebuilding
• war economies
• political regime
• security
• civil society
• gender
• transitional justice