ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the various motives that induce the conflicting parties to accept mediation and the interests that drive mediators to get involved. It addresses different types of third parties that may have an interest in getting involved in managing the conflict, the relevant leverage they possess and strategies that they can employ in the process. The book also focuses on the intractable nature of conflicts that elicit mediation by external actors because the disputing sides are either unable or unwilling to find a solution on their own. It provides an explanation of the various degrees of success in international mediation. The book addresses the most challenging task that any multiparty mediation endeavor is faced with: the achievement of the necessary level of cooperation between multiple mediators and subsequent coordination of their mediating activities.
