Mediation and Foreign Policy (original) (raw)

A current literature review of international mediation

Purpose -A rapidly expanding body of literature on international mediation, as well as the central role international mediation plays in modern-day conflict resolution, make it necessary to review and analyze this vastly evolving field of study. This study seeks to review the most significant trends and debates in the literature on international mediation, with an emphasis on the literature of the past six years. Design/methodology/approach -Reflecting Wall et al.'s staged conceptualization of the mediation process; this review essay is divided in three sections that cover the antecedents of mediation, possible mediation approaches, and the outcomes these approaches yield -making it possible to review and analyze the diverse sets of theories within the field of mediation, as well the various methodological approaches employed to test these theories. Findings -Much research to date has focused on how international mediation in armed conflicts affects the likelihood of reaching a negotiated agreement, while other possible outcomes of mediation have been understudied. Accordingly, research needs to be done on the effects of mediation attempts that did not lead to a peace agreement, as well as the accumulative effect of peace agreements. Furthermore, the relation between negative peace and mediation has been studied extensively, but how mediation affects the degree of positive peace has received scant scholarly attention. Finally, the interlinkages between the different phases of the mediation process need to be examined more extensively. Originality/value -This review identifies the state of the art knowledge concerning the international mediation process, which allows peacemakers to make informed decisions in order to prevent and resolve armed conflict in the twenty-first century.

Understanding mediation's role in preventive diplomacy

Negotiation Journal, 1996

The eve,:increasing number of international conflicts, their complexity, intractabiliOp, and their costs, demands that the world focus more attention on preventive diplomacy. Mediation is a key component of preventive diplomacy. This article anaO,zes data on international conflict management from 1945 to 1990, and examines the fitctors that contributed to the success or failttre tf mediation.

Pre-Emptive or Preventive Mediation? High-Level Mediation in the Widened Preventive Diplomacy Agenda

The continuing changing nature of conflict and violence in the past two decades, coupled with a decrease in financial resources, catapulted preventive diplomacy to the international community's security agenda. If originally the preventive diplomacy doctrine aimed at the short-term goal of preventing violence or conflict escalation, today it has come to encompass tasks aimed at resolving the underlying issues that cause and fuel conflict. In parallel -promptly deployable and cost-effective -mediation has become a more and more sophisticated and increasingly deployed instrument of preventive diplomacy. However, there is no consensus in the literature on how high-level mediation serves preventive diplomacy goals. The question of whether preventing conflict means to prevent the onset of (armed) violence in conflict, or whether it makes sense to talk about violence prevention at later stages of the conflict's cycle, permeates the evolution of the preventive diplomacy doctrine and literature and divides opinion in mediation literature. The following literature review aims to offer an understanding on how mediation works as a preventive diplomacy instrument by synthesizing the literature and bridging it with a contemporary understanding of the concept. It does so through a parallel review of the evolution of the concept of preventive diplomacy and its agenda and conflict mediation literary debates on mediation timing, strategy and outcomes in conflict prevention. It concludes, first, that high-level mediation is better equipped and understood as an instrument of preventive, rather than pre-emptive mediation, and denotes that while the preventive diplomacy agenda has expanded, mediation literature has tended to have a narrow view of the extent to which mediation can contribute to preventive diplomacy goals.

Ready for Prime Time: The When, Who, and Why of International Mediation

Negotiation Journal, 2003

Most of the literature on international dispute resolution emphasizes timing and "ripeness" when considering whether or not a dispute is suitable for mediation. In addition to this focus, the authors believe analysts should consider whether a particular mediator is "ready for prime time. " Their framework posits that one may gauge the appropriateness of a mediator for a particular dispute along three different types of considerations: operational and political; strategic and diplomatic; and relationship and cultural "fit. " They provide numerous case examples illustrating how the choice of a mediator might apply in each dimension.

Political mediation in intra-state conflicts

Mediation has been used in a variety of situations, whether at inter- or intra-state level, to stop the violence in civil war settings and to establish a platform which serves as a new conduit for equitable communication and integrative bargaining between belligerent parties. While political mediation pertains to the realm of peacemaking alongside other initiatives and activities (such as embargos and sanctions), the process is regularly framed to strengthen the social conditions and to enhance and incentivize the political will of involved actors in order to arrive to a conclusive agreement and durable peace. While peace agreements naturally entail a certain degree of clear ambiguity and determined ambition, most cases show that conflicts do erupt back to full-scale within 5 years of the signing of the peace agreement . The questions that this research paper is exploring will pertain to the strategies and steps taken during a political mediation process, how context affects or impact the decision-making process by all parties, and how both process and context are linked to outcome. 4 cases will be studied throughout the paper (Guatemala, Tajikistan, DPA with Doha talks addendum and DRC Lusaka agreement with Kampala talk addendum). The actual document will be a larger document, with all details pertinent to mediation styles and strategies and with an emphasis on providing policy recommendations.

Fear of rejection: The puzzle of unaccepted mediation offers in international conflict

Conflict Management and Peace Science, 2013

How do factors that influence mediation offers affect belligerent behavior? The circumstances that attract potential mediators are not the same as those that make mediation desirable to belligerents. Third parties offer mediation when the conflict is intense, generation of an agreement is likely and they have ties to the conflict. However, mediation is less acceptable to belligerents in these circumstances. This dynamic creates a dilemma; the characteristics that make third parties more forthcoming with mediation offers simultaneously make disputants more likely to reject mediation proposals. A better understanding of this strategic process can help scholars and policy-makers better determine how to supply mediation where it is needed most.