The concepts in Sisk look at state building and peace building through three different lenses. These lenses are capacity, authority, and legitimacy.

Capacity: Capacity is the role of the state in facilitating development in post-war countries. This includes and mainly focuses on the political institutions of the state. When looking at capacity, it is important to look at factors like poverty levels, security, and civil services.

Authority: Authority in state and peace building emphasize security. Through security, it gives states the opportunity to approach conflicts non-violently. The long-term goals oof security and authority are to take what would be considered rebel groups and turn them into legitimate political actors.

Legitimacy: Sisk emphasized the importance of legitimacy because he states that weak governments don’t have the legitimacy to rule. Democracy cannot be deferred. Sisk believes that a legitimate government needs to be in place post-conflict to ensure stability moving forward and to avoid a potential relapse. He does, however, warn that moving too quickly to democratization and elections can be dangerous. It should be approached on a case-by-case basis. An example would be to use the power-sharing approach with the military. While it is not a democracy, it facilitates peace in the state.

Rule of Law: One of the main concepts Sisk promotes is the rule of law. He claims that a democracy is pointless without a rule of law and basic human rights There needs to be a legal system in place that protects the basic rights of all people for a democracy to be truly successful.