The Price of Peace: Incentives and International Conflict Prevention

In this provocative study, policy-savvy scholars examine a wide range of cases-from North Korea to South Africa to El Salvador and Bosnia-to demonstrate the power of incentives to deter nuclear proliferation, prevent armed conflict, defend civil and human rights, and rebuild war-torn societies. The book addresses the ’moral hazard’ of incentives, the danger that they can be construed as bribes, concessions, or appeasement. The cases demonstrate that incentives can sometimes succeed when traditional methods-threats, sanctions, or force-fail or are too dangerous to apply.

David Cortright is president of the Fourth Freedom Forum and visiting faculty fellow at the Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame.