The world has suffered-and continues to suffer-from political, ideological, and ethnic conflicts that have resulted in countless deaths, the creation of many millions of refugees, untold human suffering, the destruction of livelihoods, and widespread human suffering, to say nothing of the economic destruction that has been and is also involved.

Beyond Settlement examines and evaluates both institution building and security sector reform in conflict states by analyzing eighteen case studies covering eleven countries, spanning five continents and six decades. Some of these case studies address only institution building, some address only security sector reform, and some address both institution building and security sector reform. Each case study is written by an expert/practitioner.

With regard to institution building, there is an analysis of four democratic levers- elections, the legislature, the executive, and devolution-thus focusing on how the structure and function of these political institutions contribute to the management and reduction of conflict and to the consolidation of fragile democracies. Concerning security sector reform, there is an analysis of how military, police and intelligence institutions are reformed in states that are coming out of conflict- states that are moving beyond settlement.

Some of the conflicts in this study are ongoing (Palestine), while others have been resolved (Spain, South Africa), while still others are in a peace-building or immediate post-conflict stage (Northern Ireland). The rationale behind having such a variety of case studies is to be able to examine the process of institution building-both political and security sector-over time and through a variety of stages in order to identify and evaluate similarities and differences, successes, and failures.