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Why do states fail to come to a peace settlement even though it will make all parties better off than if they continue fighting

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States fail to come to a peace settlement because most civil wars do not end with disputants finding bargain on their own, one side imposes a solution or a third party must help. In Civil War, one side has to disarm because military power cannot act. This is the commitment problem, and this is the fear of one side not fulfilling peace obligations and the threat of disarmament leads to a continuation
User Danny Cohn
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