Beyond comprehensive peace agreements: the role of civil society in promoting liberal values in local agreements

Abstract

Comprehensive peace agreements have historically been considered the tool of best practice for settling armed conflicts and, more recently, a conduit for the international community to spread liberal norms. Yet today such settlements are rare whilst local peace agreements are on the rise. Using the PA-X Local database, we evaluate how and in what ways do liberal norms feature in local peace agreements. We argue that the participation of civil society increases the likely presence of liberal norms in agreements, due to their function, their normative orientation, and incentives from international actors. To test the argument the article employs mixed methods to conduct (i) a binary logistic regression of civil society participation and the inclusion of liberal values in local agreements 1990–2024 using the PA-X Local dataset; and (ii) a case study of local peace agreements in northwest Syria. Preliminary results support our theoretical expectations.