The Costs of Peace and the Logic of Foreign-Imposed Regime Change in Iraq and Libya

Melissa Willard-Foster, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Vermont, will discuss her new book manuscript examining why foreign imposed regime change is most often imposed on the weak and friendless, despite conventional wisdom suggesting that these states should acquiesce when facing a strong challenge. Why don’t weak regimes simply negotiate rather than forcing regime change from outside? Willard-Foster offers an explanation of what negotiation means for the weak state and applies her model to Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2003 and 2011 with some final remarks on the current situation in Syria.