Civil wars: How to stop the fighting, sometimes (The Economist)

"History provides a guide with best practices to end civil war"

on the civil war of Lebanon (from 1975 to 1990): The country’s various religious groups, each with its own militias, had to share power. Lebanon could not be conquered by one side, nor divided among all. Its people are too mixed; Mr Husseini’s prominent Shia Muslim family includes Christians and Sunnis, and that is par for the course. “But the militias were against it,” he says.

In 1989, when the outside powers sponsoring the militias finally agreed to stop paying their proxies. Mr Husseini quickly convened representatives from the various communities and militias in Taif, a resort in Saudi Arabia. After a lot of haggling, they signed an accord that led to peace a year later.

Last week's The Economist has a number of interesting articles on conflicts:

• How to stop the fighting, sometimes
• The Syrian civil war: Still no hint of a compromise

More:

• Overview Middle East protests (2010 - 2011)
• Revolutionary times
• A night of anarchy