Conflict Resolution and the End of the Cold War, 1989-93

Abstract

This article presents basic data on 90 armed conflicts in the period 1989-93, revising and updating a report in JPR vol. 30, no. 3 (1993), pp. 331-346. In 1993 there was not one single inter-state conflict. All 47 active armed conflicts were internal. Fifteen of 18 conflicts fought in Europe from 1989-93 were in the territories of the former Soviet Union and ex-Yugoslavia. The trend in increasing numbers of armed conflicts reported earlier was not continued through 1993. A systematic analysis of conflict termination shows that the number of peace agreements was low (6 of 41 cases of termination), but that victory was not the typical outcome (17 of 41 outcomes). Other endings were more frequent. Conflict resolution efforts aiming at peace agreement often saw positive outcomes in longstanding disputes. The data confirm a picture of more fluid conflict patterns at the end of the Cold War. They also support the notion that it is easier to start a war than to stop it.