Advance praise: 'In this excellent book, David Cunningham breathes new life into the well-worn topic of civil war duration. The book shines as an example of a compelling combination of sophisticated quantitative analyses with extremely well conceived qualitative narratives of actual cases.' Douglas Lemke, Pennsylvania State University 'This is an elegant, insightful, and well-argued book with direct implications for managing civil conflict today. It is an important contribution to conflict studies that should be read closely by scholars and practitioners alike.' David A. Lake, University of California, San Diego 'Barriers to Peace in Civil War offers a rich theoretical argument, employing sophisticated statistical analysis and detailed case studies with profound policy implications.' Scott Gates, Centre for the Study of Civil War, PRIO and Norwegian University of Science and Technology.