Neal Conan special: How Do Civil Wars End?

A program from former NPR host Neal Conan's new series, "Truth, Politics and Power." This edition is called "How and Why Do Civil Wars End?" Neal explores the origins and possible endings of the wars in Syria and Iraq, and asks historian Annette Gordon-Reed if there are any lessons we can learn from the American Civil War.

Part 1 on Iraq: T. David Mason, professor of political science at the University of North Texas and co-founder and former director of the Castleberry Peace Institute at UNT. He is the author of "Sustaining the Peace After Civil War," and "What Do We Know About Civil Wars?"

Part 2 on Syria: Former NPR correspondent Deborah Amos who has covered Syria since the 1980's. She has also reported for ABC News, PBS, and APM. Her most recent book is "Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval in the Middle East." She is now a fellow at Princeton University.

Part 3 on the American Civil War: Annette Gordon-Reed is professor of history at Harvard University and professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School. She is the author of numerous books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "The Hemmingses of Monticello: An American Family."

To listen to the program, click the audio player above.