ABSTRACT
The analysis of the complex art of international mediation is indicative of an attempt to develop a scientific understanding and approach to the multifaceted relationship between third parties, disputants and the conflict environment. Yet the debates surrounding mediation have so far failed to produce a convincing scientific approach to one of the essential elements of the 'art' of diplomacy in international relations. Does mediation depend on the sensitivities, resources and experience of the mediator, the level of intensity of the conflict, chance or war-weariness? Only one point of clarity emerges from the literature on peacemaking: mediation and negotiation are well-used diplomatic tools that are occasionally effective and are relied upon because, although imperfect, they are the best we have at our disposal. However, in spite of our advanced technology, communication in our age is characterized by misperception and misunderstanding.; Furthermore, many practitioners have had no academic contact with the debates surrounding international mediation, but have learned their trade through diplomatic experience. Thus it is evident that mediation is in need of
becoming more clearly understood, as any insight into the tools and techniques of mediation is vital in a world where violence is no longer an accepted means of diplomacy. If we live in an era not of peace but of peacemaking, then these tools or techniques are of the utmost significance to states, communities, institutions and individuals, as once was the sword or the gun. Those that will survive and prosper will be those that are able to prevent the emergence of conflict and are able to mediate between the inevitably opposed interests that are inherent in the structures of the international system. The following chapter therefore provides an overview of the debates surrounding mediation in order to provide a basis for the theoretical framework developed later.
