Elusive Peace brings together a host of international experts on area studies and conflict resolution to examine various current and ongoing cases of internal conflict worldwide. Recognizing that internal dissidence is the legitimate result of the breakdown of normal politics, the authors explore how conflicts can be resolved through negotiation rather than combat.

They provide a revealing look at the nature of internal conflicts, explain why appropriate conditions for negotiation and useful solutions are so difficult to find, and offer ways of finding solutions.

The authors offer a series of case studies of ongoing conflict in Angola, Mozambique, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Africa, Southern Sudan, Lebanon, Spain, Colombia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. They examine the characteristics of each confrontation, including past failed negotiations, and in each case make suggestions for changes in negotiating strategies that could lead to a more successful outcome.