Negotiating Peace: The Role of Procedural and Distributive Justice in Achieving Durable Peace

Abstract

Many civil wars have been terminated with a peace agreement that ends the fighting, but these agreements have not always resulted in lasting peace. Earlier research on peace agreements has missed important points during which justice principles can play a role in establishing durable peace – during the negotiation process itself (procedural justice: PJ) and as incorporated into the negotiated outcome (distributive justice: DJ). Nor has the earlier research simultaneously considered the variety of dimensions that define durable peace, including reconciliation, security reform, governance, and economic growth. This study fills these gaps by examining the relationship between the justice and peace variables in 50 civil wars. Our analyses show that PJ and DJ led to more stable agreements and to a more durable peace: A significant time-lagged path from the justice to peace variables was demonstrated. The results suggest that just negotiation processes and outcomes are important contributors to peace.