In Peacemaking from Above, Peace from Below, Norrin M. Ripsman explains how regional rivals make peace and how outside actors can encourage regional peacemaking. Through a qualitative empirical analysis of all the regional rivalries that terminated in peace treaties in the twentieth century-including detailed case studies of the Franco-German, Egyptian-Israeli, and Israeli-Jordanian peace settlements-Ripsman concludes that efforts to encourage peacemaking that focus on changing the attitudes of the rival societies or democratizing the rival polities to enable societal input into security policy are unlikely to achieve peace.
Prior to a peace treaty, he finds, peacemaking is driven by states, often against intense societal opposition, for geostrategic reasons or to preserve domestic power. After a formal treaty has been concluded, the stability of peace depends on societal buy-in through mechanisms such as bilateral economic interdependence, democratization of former rivals, cooperative regional institutions, and transfers of population or territory. Society is largely irrelevant to the first stage but is critical to the second. He draws from this analysis a lesson for contemporary policy. Western governments and international organizations have invested heavily in efforts to promote Israeli-Palestinian and Indo-Pakistani peace by promoting democratic values, economic exchanges, and cultural contacts between the opponents. Such attempts to foster peace are likely to waste resources until such time as formal peace treaties are concluded between longtime adversaries.
In Peacemaking from Above, Peace from Below, Norrin M. Ripsman explains how regional rivals make peace and how outside actors can encourage regional peacemaking. Through a qualitative empirical analysis of all the regional rivalries that terminated in peace treaties in the twentieth century-including detailed case studies of the Franco-German, Egyptian-Israeli, and Israeli-Jordanian peace settlements-Ripsman concludes that efforts to encourage peacemaking that focus on changing the attitudes of the rival societies or democratizing the rival polities to enable societal input into security policy are unlikely to achieve peace.Prior to a peace treaty, he finds, peacemaking is driven by states, often against intense societal opposition, for geostrategic reasons or to preserve domestic power. After a formal treaty has been concluded, the stability of peace depends on societal buy-in through mechanisms such as bilateral economic interdependence, democratization of former rivals, cooperative regional institutions, and transfers of population or territory. Society is largely irrelevant to the first stage but is critical to the second. He draws from this analysis a lesson for contemporary policy. Western governments and international organizations have invested heavily in efforts to promote Israeli-Palestinian and Indo-Pakistani peace by promoting democratic values, economic exchanges, and cultural contacts between the opponents. Such attempts to foster peace are likely to waste resources until such time as formal peace treaties are concluded between longtime adversaries.
Industry Reviews
"In this groundbreaking book, Ripsman argues that successful peacemaking requires both approaches. Initial breakthroughs rely on governments' negotiating formal peace settlements, often over the objections of their publics." -- G. John Ikenberry,Foreign Affairs(December 2016) "Peacemaking from Above, Peace from Below is an outstanding work of scholarship with great relevance to contemporary policy debates. Norrin M. Ripsman explains the processes of making and sustaining peace in stages that depend, respectively, on interstate factors and societal reinforcement. Authoritative case studies on regional rivals-France and Germany, Egypt and Israel, and Jordan and Israel-strongly confirm the framework developed by Ripsman. Exploration of a wider range of regional rivalries offers further encouragement to a research program based on Ripsman's stage-based model. This well-written book is essential reading for scholars and students concerned with conflict management and resolution, along with those who have more general interests in the field of international relations. Ripsman's book will set the standard and the agenda for research on making and sustaining peace for many years to come."-Patrick James, School of International Relations, University of Southern California "Norrin M. Ripsman introduces a pathbreaking contribution to the study of peacemaking. Addressing the realist-liberal/constructivist debate on the sources of peace, the author shows convincingly that while the transition to peace is determined by states' and regimes' power interests, the stability of the peace depends on its acceptance by the respective societies as a result of the use of liberal and constructivist mechanisms. This is a novel contribution highly relevant to both IR theory and policymaking. Peacemaking from Above, Peace from Below is a must-read for both scholars of peace and conflict and practitioners and activists engaged in promoting peace."-Benny Miller, University of Haifa
