Mediation's Promise: Multiparty Mediation in Protracted Conflicts

What factors ensure the success of an international mediation effort in an intractable conflict? Academics and practitioners remain divided on the issue, with previous research offering many and varied explanations. Existing studies have focused on the conflict’s intensity, the nature of the issues, the parties’ motivation to mediate, and the international context in order to understand the causes of a successful mediation. This research employs a framework incorporating contextual, behavioural, and procedural factors in order to determine the explanatory value of (a) the timing of a third-party’s entry into the conflict, (b) mediator impartiality and (c) legitimacy, and (d) the mediator’s strategy in two cases of international mediation in intractable conflicts. Through an in-depth analysis of Northern Ireland and Kosovo, this thesis argues that Northern Ireland’s successful mediation experience may be attributed to propitious timing and the presence of an impartial and legitimate...Show moreWhat factors ensure the success of an international mediation effort in an intractable conflict? Academics and practitioners remain divided on the issue, with previous research offering many and varied explanations. Existing studies have focused on the conflict’s intensity, the nature of the issues, the parties’ motivation to mediate, and the international context in order to understand the causes of a successful mediation. This research employs a framework incorporating contextual, behavioural, and procedural factors in order to determine the explanatory value of (a) the timing of a third-party’s entry into the conflict, (b) mediator impartiality and (c) legitimacy, and (d) the mediator’s strategy in two cases of international mediation in intractable conflicts. Through an in-depth analysis of Northern Ireland and Kosovo, this thesis argues that Northern Ireland’s successful mediation experience may be attributed to propitious timing and the presence of an impartial and legitimate mediator. Similarly, the failure of the mediation effort in Kosovo may have resulted from a combination of inauspicious timing and the presence of a mediator who was perceived by one of the negotiating parties as biased and illegitimate. While mediation is not necessarily a panacea for all conflicts, an understanding of which conditions lead to mediation success will aid practitioners in future mediation efforts.Show less

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Mediation's Promise: Multiparty Mediation in Protracted Conflicts