2006
DOI: 10.1080/03050620601011032
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Softening Up: Making Conflicts More Amenable to Diplomacy

Abstract: In this paper, we explore the process by which initially reluctant protagonists come to accept diplomacy to resolve their conflicts; we refer to this as "softening up." Although some studies exploring mediation and negotiation initiation have identified a number of important factors, they have produced largely modest results. These modest findings may reflect the fact that the conditions that promote diplomacy do so only after disputants have been softened up, thereby producing results that are statistically s… Show more

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Cited by 60 publications
(14 citation statements)
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“…Such a finding could occur because repeated conflict management exerts more pressure on disputants. Alternatively, over time, disputants may "soften" their belief that violence will achieve their desired outcome (Greig and Diehl, 2006;Zartman, 2000), perhaps because they place greater trust in the information that third-parties provide (Kydd, 2003). Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, the involvement of a greater number of state-state dyads in the I-CMC leads to more peaceful outcomes, particularly with respect to preventing a conflict from crossing the threshold for full-scale civil war (Model 3), the duration of peace spells (Model 2), and the decline in conflict-related fatalities (Models 5 and 7-8).…”
Section: Addressingmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Such a finding could occur because repeated conflict management exerts more pressure on disputants. Alternatively, over time, disputants may "soften" their belief that violence will achieve their desired outcome (Greig and Diehl, 2006;Zartman, 2000), perhaps because they place greater trust in the information that third-parties provide (Kydd, 2003). Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, the involvement of a greater number of state-state dyads in the I-CMC leads to more peaceful outcomes, particularly with respect to preventing a conflict from crossing the threshold for full-scale civil war (Model 3), the duration of peace spells (Model 2), and the decline in conflict-related fatalities (Models 5 and 7-8).…”
Section: Addressingmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Within the scholarly literature on international mediation, significant attention has been devoted to understanding how contextual characteristics of the conflict and the timing of mediation efforts influence mediation success (Bercovitch 1997;Bercovitch and Langely 1993;Greig 2001;Greig and Diehl 2006;Kleiboer 1994;Pruitt 1997Pruitt , 2007Zartman 2000). Theories about ripeness attempt to identify the distinct moment in time at which mediation is most likely to succeed (Bercovitch 1997;Zartman 2000).…”
Section: Contextual Explanations and Theories Of Ripenessmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Hostilities are less entrenched early in the conflict, but the accumulation of costs later in the conflict provides greater motivation to seek resolution (Greig 2001;Kleiboer 1994;Zartman 2000). Additionally, some scholars criticize the tendency to view ripeness as a discrete state and propose conceptions of willingness or readiness as an alternative (Greig 2001;Greig and Diehl 2006;Pruitt 1997Pruitt , 2007.…”
Section: Contextual Explanations and Theories Of Ripenessmentioning
confidence: 99%
See 1 more Smart Citation
“…2 However, to break the ice, the rival parties need to "soften up." 3 This is usually when the time is ripe for conflict resolution attempts meant to address economic crisis, policy failure, compatible governments in both countries, and most importantly a military stalemate followed by a sequence of indeterminate confrontations. 4,5 The US military engagement in Afghanistan-the longest war in American history-which has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Afghan civilians and 2,300 US soldiers and cost $778 billion (from October 2001-September 2019), has led the US government to a stalemate.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%