Negotiating the “crowded field” of mediation

Most armed conflicts are resolved not by force but at the negotiating table. However, the growing number of mediation actors seen in recent years can be counterproductive, according to a recent study by Swiss authors.

“Sometimes it’s a race for the Nobel Peace prize,” admitted Rachel Gasser from swisspeace, the Swiss Peace Foundation. “A growing number of actors are seeking opportunities to engage in peace-making.”

In itself, this trend is positive, she told swissinfo.ch – “everyone contributes their own skills to the process” – but she added that the competition between mediators, in particular between international and regional organisations, represented a serious problem.

“If this is not tackled, it risks compromising the peace process,” Gasser wrote in the studyA Crowded Field: Competition and Coordination in International Peace Mediation, published in February.

Mediation is an efficient instrument: in the past 20 years, 80 per cent of conflicts have been resolved thanks to peace negotiations. According to the foreign ministry, between 2001 and 2008 only five conflicts were concluded by a military victory, while 17 were resolved via mediation.

Read the full article [HERE].

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