‘Illiberal’ Peace and the Nature of ‘Illiberality’: Concepts and Cases

Abstract

This article focuses on an old type of imposed peace settlement which has been enjoying something of a revival in the past decade and has challenged the dominant “liberal peace” model as a way of ending violence in a conflict. It seeks to clarify what is meant by an “illiberal” or authoritarian peace by re-examining and contrasting the essential characters of a liberal peace. The study uses the series of peace agreements in Central America and elsewhere during the 1990s as examples, and then contrasts these with authoritarian or “illiberal” settlements, ending by asking whether an “illiberal,” or even a “victor’s” peace, might be more durable, at least in the short run.