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This article traces the contours of emerging social science research on the resolution of civil conflict, which has been one of the more prevalent threats to sustainable peace since the Cold War. We present findings from our own research on the design of peace agreements and civil conflict, by first examining whether more elaborate and comprehensive agreements are also more effective, then by looking at the effect of intervention on civil war peace agreement design over the years 1975 to 2011. Results suggest that elaborate and comprehensive agreements are not as effective as one would suspect. Further, interventions by third parties do indeed impact agreement structure in predictable ways. We then recount how this research brought us into conversation with other political scientists whose work addresses vital elements of civil conflict resolution. We conclude with an introduction to the special issue that aims …