February 21, 2003

Media Contact: Paula Cichocka, IR/PS, (858) 534-1465

UCSD Professor's Work Named One Of The
Outstanding Academic Titles Of The Year

A UCSD professor's examination of what it takes to settle civil wars
has been named one of the outstanding academic books of 2002.

Barbara F. Walter's book, "Committing to Peace: The Successful
Settlement of Civil Wars," was chosen by Choice magazine as a top
title of the year. Only about a tenth of the 6,600 works reviewed by
Choice editors won that distinction. Choice magazine reviews
significant current books and electronic media of interest to those
in higher education.

Walter, an associate professor of political science in University of
California, San Diego's (UCSD's) Graduate School of International
Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), examined every civil war
fought between 1940 and 1992 in an effort to find out why some civil
wars end peacefully while others are fought to the finish.

"Why did negotiations in Bosnia bring peace," she asks, "while
negotiations in Rwanda brought genocide?"

Walter found that even when the combatants have tired of civil war
and can agree on peace terms, it is not enough. Only about half the
agreements struck wound up being implemented.

Outside help is needed, she found. The period of demobilization and
disarmament can be an especially treacherous time for the warring
parties. There are strong incentives for each side to cheat while
their foe is lowering its guard. Security guarantees from third
parties are essential if the agreements are to stick.

"The clear message to policymakers," wrote a reviewer of the book in
Foreign Affairs magazine, "is that settling civil wars cannot be left
to the combatants themselves."

Established in 1986, UCSD's Graduate School of International
Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) is the University of
California's only professional school of international affairs and
the only graduate school in the United States to focus exclusively on
the Pacific Rim. More information on the degree and executive
training programs and faculty can be found on its web site at:
http://www-irps.ucsd.edu.