SIS and WCL Professor Paul Williams' new book from Edward Elgar Publishing, Building Durable Peace, explores how peace is negotiated, implemented and sustained in the world’s most challenging conflict zones. 

Edited by Williams and Ryan Jane Westlake, each chapter pairs a senior practitioner directly involved in the negotiation at issue with a rising young professional, combining experience with fresh insight. Six AU students served as co-authors on 10 of the 20 chapters, and each chapter is co-authored by one of Williams' former pro bono clients, including the former Foreign Minister of Armenia, the former Prime Minister of Montenegro, and the former Sierra Leone Ambassador to the Human Rights Council. Williams also authored or co-authored 3 chapters: "Guatemala: informal mediation mechanisms and the peace process," "Kosovo: from occupation to independence, perspectives from the sole female negotiator," and "Sudan: the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement."

Covering nearly four decades of global peacebuilding in chronological order, Building Durable Peace examines peace processes in a wide range of regional, political, and legal contexts. Chapters present a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanics and human dynamics of peace processes, examining strategies, compromises, successes, failures, and the legal innovations that have helped parties move from conflict toward durable peace. 

Providing practical lessons and reflections for future peacebuilders, Building Durable Peace is a vital resource for students and scholars of public international law, as well as professionals and policy-makers involved in all stages of shaping international peace.