Why conflict parties cease fighting

The path to peace usually leads through a ceasefire. In an international project, ETH Zurich researchers have shown the conditions under which parties to civil wars are willing to stop fighting – and why they decide to do so.

On the left there is a soldier in uniform. Behind him there is a pile of weapons.
A Colombian soldier stands guard in front of a pile of weapons handed over by paramilitary groups (Photograph: Rafa Salafranca / Keystone)
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