Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. The Context of the Conflict: Revisiting the Theories of Democratic Civil Peace and Rising Expectation
Chapter 3. The Actors of the Conflict: Conflict Strategies and Negotiating Styles as Escalating Factors
Chapter 4. The Triggers and Dimensions of the Conflict
Chapter 5. How an Armed Conflict Was Avoided? The De-escalating Factors
Chapter 6. The Mediation of the Conflict by the FFKM: The Failure of the National Mediation
Chapter 7. The Mediation of the Conflict by the International Community: The Mixed Results of the SADC Mediation
Chapter 8. Conclusion

About the Author

Adrien Ratsimbaharison is professor of Political Science at Benedict College, Columbia, SC. He worked as a journalist for Midi-Madagasikara, a daily newspaper in Antananarivo.

Reviews

Ratsimbaharison’s book is an excellent contribution to the scholarship on conflict analysis and mediation. . . a must read for conflict-analysts and Africanists.
*African Studies Quarterly*

Dr. Ratsimbaharison provides an in-depth, multifaceted examination of the 2009 political crisis in Madagascar by exploring the crisis from several perspectives: the political system in general and its lack of successful liberal democracy, the actors themselves and how each side sought to exploit the situation to its own advantage, and the difficulty of national and international mediators to bring about peace. The book presents a compelling main argument that the crisis occurred because a combination of factors escalated an ongoing conflict between the government and the opposition.
*Chris White, Livingston College*

This book is essential reading for anyone interested in conflict mediation and in Madagascar's recent history. Ratsimbaharison gives a solid analysis of the political and socio-economic context of the 2009 political crisis in Madagascar. He explains the roles of the mediators , the FFKM (Council of Christian Churches in Madagascar), and the international community through SADC (Southern African Development Community), until the Roadmap for Ending the Crisis is established by the parties in 2011. The book is sure to make readers understand more of the complexity of mediation.
*Wenche Iren Hauge, Senior Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)*