Peace talks failed because each leader’s internal hawks countered every conciliatory overture
Evidence
Since the “self-determination” speech of September 1959, endeavours towards negotiating a cease-fire had jolted along in their usual fruitless and frustrating way, with neither side seemingly able to find a formula for beginning talks that would satisfy promises extracted for internal consumption. (And how often in the history of war does the killing of young men and civilians continue for no better reason than this failure to discover just such a face-saving formula?) The problems of each side ran curiously parallel; no sooner had a peaceful-sounding overture been made than pressure from the protagonists of “no compromise” would force the respective leader to counterpoint with harsh and intransigent noises towards the other side, which in turn would engender more mistrustful reservations. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1165
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Mirrored hard-liner pressure on both sides doomed every peace overture.; Failed negotiations might have triggered internal war between insurgents and their leaders