A Foreign Solution to Civil Conflict: US Intervention and the Duration of the Peruvian and Colombian Civil War

Foreign intervention in civil war is generally perceived as being peace generating. While interveners may seek ¨stability¨, the result of intervention is all too frequently prolonged violence and political chaos. While previous studies have confirmed a causal relationship between foreign intervention and the prolonged duration of civil war, they have neglected to dig into the causal mechanisms that explain how such intervention extents civil war. In the light of an increasing occurrence of the civil war phenomenon coupled with foreign intervention, it is essential to acquire a complete understanding of the relation between foreign intervention and civil war so that policy makers can create more effective responses and develop the right strategies. This study contributes to this by examining the role of US intervention in the Peruvian and Colombian civil conflict. A careful consideration of these two cases reveals that a foreign actors that supports a government in civil war,...Show moreForeign intervention in civil war is generally perceived as being peace generating. While interveners may seek ¨stability¨, the result of intervention is all too frequently prolonged violence and political chaos. While previous studies have confirmed a causal relationship between foreign intervention and the prolonged duration of civil war, they have neglected to dig into the causal mechanisms that explain how such intervention extents civil war. In the light of an increasing occurrence of the civil war phenomenon coupled with foreign intervention, it is essential to acquire a complete understanding of the relation between foreign intervention and civil war so that policy makers can create more effective responses and develop the right strategies. This study contributes to this by examining the role of US intervention in the Peruvian and Colombian civil conflict. A careful consideration of these two cases reveals that a foreign actors that supports a government in civil war, introduces separate interests to the conflict. Subsequently, diverging strategies undermine the government´s ability to deal with the insurgent independently. Foreign intervention may temporarily oppress an insurgent, but by addressing primarily the symptoms and not the cause of the conflict, foreign intervention leads to a prolonged civil war duration in the long-run.Show less

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A Foreign Solution to Civil Conflict: US Intervention and the Duration of the Peruvian and Colombian Civil War