This thesis addresses the determinants of militia decision-making. Focussing on the Lebanese Forces (LF), the major Christian militia in Lebanon's Civil War, it analyses the motives which drove the LF to accept the Ta'if Accord--an acceptance that stands in stark contrast to its rejection of two earlier settlement blueprints, the Lausanne talks and the Tripartite Agreement. Steering away from the literature's focus on ideology as the prime mover of militias, the research explores other dimensions of militia decision-making, notably the impact of inter-communal power struggles, of the extra-communal balance of power, and of the international setting. Particular attention is given to the impact of the process of institutionalization. By rendering decisions more sensitive to cost-benefit and other prasmatic considerations, institutionalization is insruumental in bringing the more hawkish of militias to the negotiation table and in opening a window of opportunity for lasting conflict resolution.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.26366 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Zahar, Marie-Joëlle |
| Contributors | Brynen, Rex (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of Political Science.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001434529, proquestno: MM99953, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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