Why It Worked: Moving from Success to Effectiveness in Conflict Resolution and Peace Negotiations

Abstract This concluding article of the special issue “Why It Worked” surveys the literature on success in conflict resolution to understand the gaps and biases around what constitutes “success” in protracted, asymmetrical, and ethnonational (PAE) conflicts. Drawing from the articles in the special issue, it makes the case for moving from outcome-based approaches of success toward effectiveness. It suggests four integrated factors to understand the nature of effectiveness in peace negotiations. These factors affect the issues, actors, and process of peace negotiations interactively: (1) structural factors and process design, (2) power and relations, (3) religion and identity, and (4) land and resources. The article contributes a novel way to analyze effectiveness in PAE conflicts through a conceptual visualization that illustrates key elements in peace negotiations aimed at resolving PAE conflicts: the Propeller. The Propeller concept is built upon the empirical research discussed in the articles in this special issue. 1