Intermediaries in International Conflict

With increasing interest in mediation at both the domestic and international levels, considerable descriptive and prescriptive work has emerged. Few scholars, however, have attempted to critically evaluate the role mediators play in managing international conflicts. Thomas Princen does this by examining where mediation fits into the larger realm of diplomatic practice. Moreover, he goes beyond the usual state-centric focus to account for the mediating activities of a wide range of actors - from superpowers to small states, from international organizations to nongovernmental groups. A major theoretical finding is that the effect of intervention depends critically on the bargaining relationship the mediator has with the disputants. Somewhat paradoxically, those mediators with "bargaining power" are not always the most effective. In fact, the very "powerlessness" of some mediators enables them to do what powerful ones cannot - namely, affect the norms of interaction between disputants.
Empirical findings show how mediation seen from the mediator's point of view deviates from idealized depictions and how an intermediary must define and negotiate a role constantly while trying to bring the disputants to agreement.