ABSTRACT
This chapter responds to the need to increase understanding of third-party engagement in water diplomacy as defined in this Handbook. This includes processes beyond negotiations over allocations of shared water resources – ranging from building and advancing relations between riparian actors to support with fact-finding and agreement monitoring. The chapter engages with several questions: Who can act as a third party? When is the time ripe for engagement? How and on which tracks is engagement carried out? The chapter furthermore outlines different types of third parties based on the mandate they receive from negotiating parties, encompassing mediators, facilitators, good offices, arbitrators, and observers. It concludes with recommendations for actors considering engaging a third party in negotiations over shared water resources or finding new entry points in stalemated processes. Reflections on what attributes make for an effective third party are also highlighted.
