ABSTRACT
Internationally, security can be thought of in terms of the stability of the international system, defined as the level of tension or violence, and the corresponding extent to which actor interests can be accommodated through diplomacy, without recourse to violence, on the basis of mediation, rule and norm setting. In the event of violence occurring, the task of diplomacy is ultimately peaceful settlement, through the negotiation of ceasefires, withdrawal and other measures of a longer-term nature. From a quite different perspective, violence may be a preferred end in itself, and diplomacy the means of orchestrating violence rather than bringing about a negotiated solution.
