ABSTRACT
This chapter aims at incorporating the operational capabilities of the field of conflict resolution as part of liberal international relations (IR) practice, and offers a model that incorporates conceptual and practical aspects of liberal approaches to IR, alongside conventional Realpolitik practices. The model is relevant for both analysts (academics, consultants) and “real world” decisionmakers and practitioners, based on the following observations:
Traditionally, the practice of IR has been confined within the limits of security stud-• ies discourse, which offers limited options to practitioners of international relations. Foreign policy officials often perceive the conflict resolution field as a “new age” movement not having much relevance to the conduct of real world issues. The lack of operational coherence in liberal approaches often causes a “default” use • of realist tools in the making and execution of day-to-day foreign policies, even in situations in which joint interests can be increased through cooperation. The current state of the literature in conflict resolution makes it possible to create • synthesis between studies of IR and the field of conflict resolution. The rapidly changing world necessitates systematic frameworks that capture activities • and practices of foreign policy behavior of states in order to understand and formulate foreign policies vis-à-vis quickly emerging new international situations, and then to communicate these options to a wider audience. A lack of comprehensive typologies for analysts often causes misdiagnosis about situ-• ations, which results in suboptimal foreign policy outcomes.
