Peace from the Inside: Exploring the Role of the Insider-Partial Mediator

Svensson, Isak; Lindgren, Mathilda

doi:10.1080/03050629.2013.834261

Cited by 25 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The previous literature has identified credibility as being one of the most important factors here (e.g. Beardsley, 2008;Beardsley et al, 2006;Kydd, 2003;Rauchhaus, 2006;Savun, 2008;Smith and Stam, 2003;Svensson, 2007;2009;Svensson and Lindgren, 2013;Wallensteen and Svensson, 2014). In fact, a prerequisite for the provision of information leading to efficient and effective coordination is the credibility of the mediator (Dorussen and Ward, 2008, p. 193): the more credible a mediator, the more likely it is that he or she is accepted by the disputing actors as an intervener and the higher the prospects for success (see also Bercovitch and Houston, 2000;Regan and Aydin, 2006).…”

Section: Belligerents' Cultural Ties To Mediatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their status as 'insiders' gives them 'intimate knowledge of the conflict and unique entry points for mediation through and accumulated trust of not one, but all sides' (Svensson and Lindgren, 2013, p. 701). Svensson and Lindgren (2013) argue that all these properties that are likely to promote mediation occurrence and effectiveness primarily stem from the 'same social context' of the parties involved. 6 Note that due to missing values for our core explanatory variables, the sample decreases to 111,956 observations over the same period.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Barriers to Coordination? Examining the Impact of Culture on International Mediation Occurrence and Effectiveness

2015

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'Culture' features prominently in the literature on international mediation: if belligerents share cultural characteristics, they are likely to have a common understanding and norms. This creates a common identity and makes coordination less costly, which ultimately facilitates mediation occurrence and effectiveness. Surprisingly, existing quantitative research largely neglects any cultural ties the antagonists might share with the mediator. This article addresses this gap by offering one of the first joint analyses of fighting parties' and mediators' culture -and the interaction thereof. Based on existing work, a theoretical framework for mediation occurrence and effectiveness is developed and innovative measures for belligerents' cultural ties and the links to the mediator are used. The results suggest that larger cultural distances between antagonists make mediation more likely, while cultural dissimilarities between them and the mediator have the opposite effect. Evidence is also found for a conditional effect between the two culture variables on mediation occurrence.

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Section: Belligerents' Cultural Ties To Mediatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to Coordination? Examining the Impact of Culture on International Mediation Occurrence and Effectiveness

2015

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“…Biased mediation is not only undertaken by major powers and states, but also by “quasi‐mediators” (Kriesberg ) and “insider‐partial mediators” (Wehr and Lederach ; Svensson and Lindgren ). Both terms refer to individuals and groups from the same communities as the disputants who become involved in mediation.…”

Section: Kin States and Mediationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Typology of Kin‐State Mediation

Kocadal¹

2016

Negotiation Journal

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In this article, I argue that kin states can play major roles in international mediation processes involving their kin communities. Although kin states may be naturally biased toward their kin, kin states are sometimes actively involved in mediation processes and such involvement is even encouraged by third‐party mediators. In this study, I divide the various roles assumed by kin states in mediation into four main conceptual categories: promoter, quasi‐mediator, powerbroker, and enforcer. My analysis presumes that a kin state can use its close ties with its kin community to make third‐party mediation more successful. I support and illustrate this model using cases of kin‐state involvement in peace processes and examine both the benefits and complications that kin‐state mediation can entail. This study contributes to scholarship examining the effectiveness of biased mediators. I conclude that the role a kin state assumes in a mediation is often context‐dependent, but that third‐party mediators and the international community can use their leverage over kin states to improve the peace process.

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“…Similar to their transnational counterparts, such as the UN and states long engaged in mediation, RO and NGO mediators are increasingly expected to promote inclusive peace processes and outcomes. To distinguish themselves from other mediation actors, ROs and NGOs highlight their relative ‘insider status’ (Svensson and Lindgren 2013) based on claims of proximity to the conflict, embedded expertise in the context, and long‐standing formal and informal channels as their advantage (Shea 2016; Söderbaum 2016; DeMars and Djikzeul 2015; Gartner 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Normative Agency of Regional Organizations and Non‐governmental Organizations in International Peace Mediation*

Pring

Federer

2020

Swiss Political Sci Review

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This article analyzes the increasingly prominent role of regional organizations (ROs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in promoting norms in mediation processes. In particular, we seek to understand the processes by which RO and NGO mediators promote the inclusivity norm to negotiating parties and the outcomes that result. We employ the concepts of local agency and social practices in examining the normative agency of ROs and NGOs in promoting and redefining the inclusivity norm. Through illustrative case studies of peace processes in South Sudan and Myanmar, we argue that ROs' and NGOs' mediation practices reflect their claims to alternative resources of power, such as long-standing expertise and insider status in the context, and build congruence with strong local norms. We provide nuanced theoretical insights on RO and NGO mediators' claims to agency and provide empirical illustrations on how these claims contribute to constitutive changes to norms.

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Peace from the Inside: Exploring the Role of the Insider-Partial Mediator

Cited by 25 publications

References 35 publications

Barriers to Coordination? Examining the Impact of Culture on International Mediation Occurrence and Effectiveness

Barriers to Coordination? Examining the Impact of Culture on International Mediation Occurrence and Effectiveness

A Conceptual Typology of Kin‐State Mediation

The Normative Agency of Regional Organizations and Non‐governmental Organizations in International Peace Mediation*

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