ABSTRACT
The relationship between political violence and peacemaking processes in civil war contexts is close and complex. The peace process may be a reaction to the level of violence and may expressly aim to lower the cost of that violence. The process may spark a violent reaction, often termed ‘spoiler violence’, which may attempt to derail efforts to reach an accommodation. Violence during a peace process may even act as a spur to those at the negotiating table and intensify their efforts to strike an accord. A peace process may also create a space in which other forms of violence, for example, crime or the illicit trading of weapons or people, may take place or gain new prominence. For the purposes of this chapter, a peace process is regarded as a sustained attempt by the main actors in a violent conflict to reach some sort of negotiated outcome (Darby and Mac Ginty, 2008: 2-4). The peace process may become conflict by other means and the parties to it may be seeking very different political outcomes (Richmond 1998: 707-22). In some circumstances, they may reach a mutual understanding that the peace process can be a vehicle through which they can reduce the costs of the conflict and attain some of their political or economic goals. A peace accord and programme of implementation, perhaps overseen by third parties, may follow. This chapter seeks to outline the different forms that political violence takes during peacemaking processes. Following a brief conceptual discussion on the nature of violence in peace processes, it concentrates on three issues: the relationship between violence, ceasefires and peace processes; spoiler violence; and crime during and after peace processes.
