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While many factors contribute to peace, economic and governmental factors are considered essential litmus tests for determining peace levels. This study aims to examine the impacts of World Governance Index (WGI) variables on the Global Peace Index (GPI) which ranges from 0 (very high) to 5 (very low).

The GPI serves as a key indicator of peace levels. Valid data from two databases covering 161 countries from 2008 to 2022 were collected and analyzed by using a logarithmic panel data regression model. This approach ensures robust results, particularly when endogenous and exogenous variables have different measurement units.

According to the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) estimators, five WGI components exhibit inverse relationships with the GPI (increasing WGI components leads to a decline in GPI, indicating an enhancement in peace quality). The most significant factor influencing peace is “Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism”, while the effects of “Voice and Accountability” and “Control of Corruption” are also noted.

Extant studies have largely overlooked the interaction between governance and peace, often relying on regional data (with neighboring countries) or case studies on local solutions. This paper, based on data from 161 countries, evaluates governance quality and its dimensions in relation to peace conditions on a global scale, providing more generalizable results for policymakers and scholars.

Foreign fighters (FFs) appeared in at least approximately one-fourth of conflicts over the past 200 years. This study aims to reveal the impact of FFs in conflicts, whether they resolve the conflict faster or they drag out the conflict, and investigate the single and simultaneous impacts of ethnic conflict (EC) and FFs on conflict duration (CD).

The data set consisting of 352 conflicts from 1818 to 2022 was collected from different sources. Logarithmic Linear Regression with Dummy Variables and the Cox Regression models were used to check the hypotheses.

One of the key findings of this analysis is that the use of FFs extends the duration of conflicts. Similarly, conflicts involving EC increase CD. Additionally, the simultaneous effect of FFs and EC together increases the CD much more, and it is noted CD significantly varies regionally.

As this study focused on the factors that affect the duration of the conflict in the hypotheses, the findings only can contribute to explaining the duration rather than factors such as the number of casualties and economic losses. The authors believe that policy and key decision-makers can benefit from the results and think twice before deciding to use FFs in conflicts.

This study offers a separate and simultaneous effect of EC and FFs on CD, which provides some empirical contributions to conflict management by filling the gap in this area.