Scholars have offered a few reasons for it, after Paul Collier and Nicholas Sambanis (2002) noticed a pattern and coined the term ‘conflict trap’.
[2] Political and legal institutions play an important role in inhibiting repeat civil wars, and thus preventing a country from entering a conflict trap.
Strong political and legal systems also give a non-violent platform to rebels to bring about desired changes, so they may not feel a need to adopt violent ways of protest.
Weaker states provide an easier path for rebellion, since they lack sufficient capacity to effectively keep rebels in check.
Where a population holds significant grievances, governments can be reluctant to make concessions to violent groups if they were previously unwilling to submit to nonviolent pressure.