As its subtitle suggests, this ain't exactly bedtime reading.
But if you've ever wanted a clear, concise guide to how exactly peace processes work, this is it. Who gets to be involved? What do they talk about, and how is that agenda set? How are these decisions translated into practice? And how are transparency and ethical process observed?
Illustrated by examples from Tajikistan to Guatemala via Burma and Mozambique, the book looks at the common themes of success and failure, all in a language so neat and concise that the whole volume only runs to 174 pages, and that's with full chronologies and summaries of some of the most important peace processes observed. And all so relevant in assessing (and one hopes informing) the processes currently afoot in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.