| This study explores the role of military intervention in resolving violent and armed conflicts by exploring the historical record of the 20th Century, identifying the patterns and traits that connect military intervention and conflict resolution, in order to build a theory of military intervention consisting of a general logic and set of conditional generalizations. Using a data set of 63 military interventions constructed by the author, it examines those recurring conceptual and practical factors and characteristics of interventions associated with particular outcomes and, far more important, looks for linkages between military intervention and conflict resolution. In doing so, the study strives to build a body of knowledge that may assist future policy-makers and practitioners. The purpose is to provide an empirically derived theory of military intervention that may further the current understanding of how military interventions contribute to conflict resolution, bridging the intellectual and often practical chasm between the harsh realities of employing armed force and the hopes of the conflict resolution community. It seeks patterns and relationships, not causalities. For the researcher in search of certainty, this study suggests a starting point for additional research, not an end in itself. For practitioners and policy-makers, the conclusions offer a set of guideposts to assist in planning and executing those very difficult and often risky operations called military interventions. The conclusions, therefore, provide a framework for reasoned thought and application to help meet the unique situations inevitably faced by those who find themselves in the midst of someone else's war, striving to find a bridge to end the killing and build lasting peace. |
