What is the role of a soldier at the end of war, when either victory or defeat is inevitable? This book delves into that question, exploring how the military and soldiers on the ground have contributed to the transition to peace. With case studies from 1800 to the present day, Soldiers in Peace-making offers a historical overview of the part military men and women have played in the aftermath of war.

From UN peacekeeping in Cambodia to military observers in former Yugoslavia, the post-Cold War US Army and more, the essays in this collection map the strategy, politics and practicalities involved in the transition from war to postwar. Analyzing the legitimacy of each 'peace' and the military's approach to them, the chapters explore how soldiers have engaged with politics and political leaders, interacted with civil populations, and called upon their own expertise to enable the peace-making process. In exploring the hybrid role of military men and women as diplomats, peacemakers, negotiators and fighters this book reveals the crucial part they have played as conflicts come to a close.

Beatrice de Graaf is Professor of History at University of Utrecht, Netherlands. A historian in the field of security and terrorism, her research focuses on security-related themes in the 19th century and on modern and contemporary cases of conflict and terrorism. She was awarded with the Stevin Prize in 2018 for her work.

Frédéric Dessberg is Senior Lecturer of Modern History at the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France, and is head of the European Defence and Security research department at Saint-Cyr Research Center. He also holds the Jean Monnet European Chair for "European Defence and Security." His work primarily explores French policy in Eastern Europe during the interwar period.

Thomas Vaisset is Lecturer in Contemporary History at Le Havre Normandy University, France. His research focuses on the history of the French Navy between 1870 and 1945, and the history of French external resistance during WWII.