Recent empirical studies have suggested that the implementation of a comprehensive peace agreement is the primary predictor of whether or not peace will last after a civil war. However, it is less certain what factors that lead to high implementation rates of peace agreements. Qualitative research has suggested that state capacity is a necessary condition for peace agreement implementation. Quantitively the relationship between state capacity and peace agreement implementation has only been controlled for in two studies. In this paper it is argued that this relationship has not been studied in a sufficient manner in either of them. Consequently, this study measures the relationship between state capacity and peace agreement implementation rate, operationalizing state capacity as the extraction rate and political reach of the state. This relationship is tested on 34 comprehensive peace agreements during the years of 1989 to 2015. However, the hypothesis did not find support as extraction rate has a negative correlation while political reach has a positive correlation. These findings are significant as they further the study on peace agreement implementation rate; how best to measure state capacity and moreover these findings can become important for what policies to prioritize in order to increase the implementation rate concerning peace agreements.

The role of civil society in conflict resolution has moved from the margins to the core of analyses of peace processes. However, existing literature has put little attention on examining the contribution of civil society in the implementation of peace agreements in the immediate time upon their conclusion. I aim to fill this gap by asking “How does the mode of civil society inclusion during the pre-agreement stage influence the degree of civil society participation in the implementation of peace agreements?”. I argue that when civil society can directly influence the peace talks by having a seat at the negotiation table this can have downstream effects on how much they will be involved in the implementation of the agreed provisions. The research question is answered in the context of a qualitative study of the cases of the peace process in Mozambique and El Salvador, through the method of structured focused comparison. The findings do not support this expectation. The analysis rather indicates that direct participation is not enough for civil society actors to ensure continuity in their participation, and more substantive engagement and ownership might be needed.

International Legal Aspects of Rebuilding State Structures in Post-Conflict Areas Abstract The dissertation thesis International Legal Aspects of Rebuilding State Structures in Post-Conflict Areas deals with creation, acceptance and implementation of peace agreements. The emphasis is on nature, functions and status of the peace agreements within international law. The second major area of research is a legislation of the implementation of peace agreements in the period between the termination of armed conflict and rebuilding a just and sustainable peace in the country when the armed conflict was undergoing. The implementation process is extremely complex and fragmented, which requires major efforts to ensure an effective and efficient outcome of the process. In a specific section we are focusing on case studies of implementation processes (i.e. solution of legal relations between Sudan and South Sudan). The concept of jus post bellum, which seeks to build on the law of armed conflict, is used for the legislation of the implementation in the doctrine of international law. In addition to jus post bellum we will mention also new approaches to international mediation, Responsibility to Protect, Transitional Justice and lex pacificatoria. As results of the work are findings that the peace agreement, excluding...

International Legal Aspects of Rebuilding State Structures in Post-Conflict Areas Abstract The dissertation thesis International Legal Aspects of Rebuilding State Structures in Post-Conflict Areas deals with creation, acceptance and implementation of peace agreements. The emphasis is on nature, functions and status of the peace agreements within international law. The second major area of research is a legislation of the implementation of peace agreements in the period between the termination of armed conflict and rebuilding a just and sustainable peace in the country when the armed conflict was undergoing. The implementation process is extremely complex and fragmented, which requires major efforts to ensure an effective and efficient outcome of the process. In a specific section we are focusing on case studies of implementation processes (i.e. solution of legal relations between Sudan and South Sudan). The concept of jus post bellum, which seeks to build on the law of armed conflict, is used for the legislation of the implementation in the doctrine of international law. In addition to jus post bellum we will mention also new approaches to international mediation, Responsibility to Protect, Transitional Justice and lex pacificatoria. As results of the work are findings that the peace agreement, excluding...