Building Solutions to Post-conflict Stabilization

Speakers: Dr. Beatrice Heuser (University of Glasgow) with Guest Host Jack Gaines (One CA Podcast)

Date: 6 March 2024

Speaker Session Summary

The optimal outcome of any military conflict is a lasting peace in the post-war period. Professor Heuser discusses insights from historical and ongoing conflicts that shed light on the factors influencing the establishment of enduring peace. Drawing from the works of past philosophers and historians like Henry Humphry Evans Lloyd and Christine de Pizan, who pioneered research on conflict and peace in their times, Professor Heuser explores various observations. For example, Christine de Pizan pointed out that cruelty from an occupying force will often multiply the number of enemies they face, while Lloyd points out that the aim of a war or a revolt is to correct a grievance. Additionally, during the evolution of a conflict, the war aims among the combatants often change. War itself tends to polarize societies, increasing the need for an intentional and preplanned transition to peace. 

A pre-planned approach for establishing lasting peace during the conflict is a strong indicator of the success of peace processes. The successful transition to peace in post-World War II Germany serves as an example, contrasting with the failed peace plan in Afghanistan. The Allies achieved success in Germany due to highly coordinated leadership among allied nations, a substantial ratio of occupying soldiers to German civilians, and a widespread sense of defeat among the German populace. In contrast, the failure in Afghanistan resulted from a lack of alignment in intra-war and post-war objectives among the allies, along with significant cultural and language barriers between occupying soldiers and the Afghan population. 

Professor Heuser reviewed other factors contributing to the success or failure of post-war peace processes, including the treatment of civilians by occupying forces, such as the occupying soldiers’ assistance in allocating food and humanitarian aid. She also discussed why some civilian populations blame the citizens of an adversarial government for acts of war and others do not. The level of accountability attributed to citizens of an adversary nation regarding acts of war fluctuates due to numerous factors. These include the extent of their involvement in establishing their government, whether they endure persecution for abstaining from supporting the war effort, and their initiation of atonement for war crimes promptly following the conflict. The forgiveness and atonement by citizens of opposing governments can contribute to an enduring peace after a conflict. 

Speaker Session Recording

Briefing Materials

Biography: Dr. Beatrice Heuser holds the Chair in International Relations at the University of Glasgow.  She has degrees from the Universities of London (BA, MA) and Oxford (DPhil), and a Habilitation from the Philipps-University of Marburg.  From 1991-2003 she taught at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and then Chair of International and Strategic Studies.  She has also taught at four French universities/higher education institutions (including the Universities Paris I and IV (Sorbonne), and at two German universities. From 1997-1998, she worked in the International Staff at NATO headquarters in Brussels.  From 2003-2007 she worked as Director for Research at the Military History Research Office of the Bundeswehr in Potsdam.  Heuser’s publications include work on nuclear strategy – NATO, Britain, France and the FRG: Nuclear Strategies and Forces for Europe (1997); Nuclear Mentalities? (1998); and The Bomb: Nuclear Weapons in their Historical, Strategic and Ethical Context (1999).  She has also worked more generally on the history of strategy, with major works on Reading Clausewitz (2002); and The Evolution of Strategy (2010) covering the period from Antiquity to the Present. She has researched and edited volumes on insurgencies and counter-insurgency (including special issues of Small Wars and Insurgencies (2014) and Civil Wars (2013).