Reaping what was sown: Conflict outcome and post-civil war democratization

What impact does the way a civil war is terminated have on the post-conflict democratization process? This study analyses whether certain types of conflict termination are positive for post-conflict levels of democracy. It is argued that negotiated settlements, being at large more cooperative, are more conducive for democratization than truces or military victories. Stabilizing measures rarely leave possibilities for contestation of elites and thus few incentives to open up post-war society. The empirics reveal that negotiated settlements are the best way to end a conflict if democracy is to develop in its aftermath.