| Summary/Abstract |
In December 1994, former US president, Jimmy Carter, travelled to the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale outside Sarajevo where he was hosted by rebel leader Radovan Karadžić. Carter negotiated a four-month ceasefire between the Bosnian government and Bosnian Serb forces. This article reconstructs how the Carter mission unfolded, the motivations behind the initiative and how the interests of different actors converged to facilitate the ceasefire. Drawing on the literature on Carter’s post-presidential career, private peace-making and the war in Bosnia, this article uses the case study of the Carter mission to develop the concept of an external private peace entrepreneur. These are private individuals unrelated to a conflict with no official capacity who undertake peace initiatives.
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