Voting to Peace

M.A. in Public Policy and Mangement.Studied at the University of Konstanz/Germany and University Pavia/Italy.Currently PhD student at the University St. Gallen/Switzerland.

Revision with unchanged content. Since the end of the Cold War the number of civil wars with following peace- and state-building attempts has significantly increased. In line with the third wave of democratization theory more and more states try to establish a mar ket democracy after the end of domestic conflict. But is a rapid transition with immediate elections really the one best way to end domestic conflict? Recent examples of Afghanistan and Iraq show that elections are by no means an endpoint for domestic conflict within war-torn societies, but rather an accelerator for ethnic violence. Therefore to introduce primarily stable institutions, like rule of law and a functioning bureaucracy, before organizing democratic elections, seems to be a more promising strategy. The author Florian Kunze investigates this hypothesis, first through a quantitative analysis of 35 cases, and second through an in depth analysis of three case studies: Namibia, Liberia, and South Africa. This book addresses researches and students of international relations, politi cians, development workers and military staff faced with state building tasks, and all other interested in the issue of democratic transition after domestic conflict.