Since World War II, civil wars have replaced interstate wars as the most frequent and deadly form of armed conflict globally. In this timely book, leading scholars guide us through what the latest research has to tell us about civil war onset, the duration and outcomes of civil wars, the recurrence of civil wars, and the consequences of conflict in war-torn countries, such as Syria, Sudan, and Rwanda. This authoritative text offers both an accessible and current overview of current knowledge and an agenda for future research. -- Back cover.

Patterns of Armed Conflict since 1945 / Nils Petter Gleditsch, Erik Melander, and Henrik Urdal -- Antecedents of Civil War onset: greed, grievance, and state repression / Joseph K. Young -- Identity Issues and Civil War: ethnic and religious divisions / Lee J.M. Seymour and Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham -- State Capacity, regime type, and Civil War / Karl DeRouen Jr. and David Sobek -- Transnational dimensions of Civil Wars: Clustering, contagion, and connectedness / Erika Forsberg --Third party intervention and the duration and outcomes of Civil Wars / Christopher Linebarger and Andrew Enterline -- Ripe for resolution: third party mediation and negotiating peace agreements / Jacob D. Kathman and Megan Shannon -- Negotiated peace: power sharing peace agreements / Caroline A. Hartzell -- Breaking the conflict trap: the impact of peacekeeping on violence and democratization in the post-conflict context / Paul F. Diehl -- The legacies of civil war: health, education, and economic development / Clayton L. Thyme -- Transitional justice: prospects for postwar peace and human rights / Jacqueline H. R. DeMeritt -- Gender and Civil Wars / Erik Melander -- Exploring the resource-civil war nexus / Benjamin Smith -- Environment and conflict / Cullen Hendrix, Scott Gates, and Halvard Buhbung --Trends in Civil War Data : Geography, Organizations, and Events / David E. Cunningham, Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, and Idean Salehyan.