A peace agreement is an extensive document of a legal and political nature, drafted to assure peace between two or more states. The agreement not only brings conflict to an end, but also institutionalizes reconciliation and coexistence. Nonetheless, t...
A peace agreement is an extensive document of a legal and political nature, drafted to assure peace between two or more states. The agreement not only brings conflict to an end, but also institutionalizes reconciliation and coexistence. Nonetheless, the peace agreement itself does not necessarily guarantee peace. It is not a single agreement that terminates disputes, but a series of agreements that are brought into force during the process of resolution. Hence, one needs to understand peace agreement as a process — beginning with the termination of conflict and culminating in a state of peace. Peace treaties signed in the process of peacebuilding may be categorized into three different types in accordance with the situation which they are concluded in. In this article, I categorize peace agreements between Israel and Palestine into the following three types: the preliminary basic agreement, the actual fundamental agreement, and the complementary practiced agreement. Categorizing peace agreements in this way would clarify and enhance our understanding about their nature. Peace agreements should be approached as management mechanisms for institutionalized conflicts that take on a strategic and consecutive form in order to allow transition.