International Mediation: A Study of the Incidence, Strategies and Conditions of Successful Outcomes
| Author | Jacob Bercovitch |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083678602100302 |
| Date | 01 September 1986 |
| Published date | 01 September 1986 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
International
Mediation:
A
Study
of
the
Incidence,
Strategies
and
Conditions
of
Successful
Outcomes
JACOB
BERCOVITCH
Department
of
Political
Science,
University
of
Canterbury,
Christchurch,
New
Zealand
Bercovitch,
J.
International
Mediation:
A
Study
of
the
Incidence,
Strategies
and
Conditions
of
Successful
Outcomes.
Cooperation
and
Conflict,
XXI
,
1986,
155-168.
This
paper
analyses
the
role
and
relevance
of
mediation
in
international
disputes.
Mediation
is
placed
within
the
general
structure
of
conflict
management
and
its
specific
characteristics
are
discussed.
Adopting
a
systematic
approach,
the
paper
looks
at
the
incidence
of
international
mediation
and
offers
a
new
case-list
of 72
international
disputes
since
1945.
Of
these,
44
disputes
were
mediated,
some more
than
once,
giving
a
total
of
210
mediation
cases.
Three
basic
conditions
are
found
to
affect
the
likelihood
of
a
successful
outcome.
These
are
(a)
the
identity
of
the
parties,
(b)
the
nature
of
the
dispute,
and
(c)
the
characteristics
of
a
mediator.
These
conditions
are
evaluated,
using
cross-tabulation
and
tests
of
significance,
to
determine
which
has
the
greatest
impact
on
mediation
outcomes.
I.
INTRODUCTION
In
all
social
systems,
however
simple
or
complex
and
irrespective
of
their
location
in
time
and
space,
there
are
three
basic
methods
of
conflict
management.
These
are
(a)
violence
and
coercion
(both
physi-
cal
and
psychological),
(b)
various
forms
of
bargaining
and
negotiation,
and
(c)
the
involvement
of
a
third
party.
A
review
of
the
relations
between
nations
suggests
that
these
methods
are
either
built
into
the
structure
of
international
relations
(e.g.
the
United
Nations)
or
are
con-
sciously
employed
by
international
actors
(e.g.
Soviet-American
negotiations).
Of
the
available
methods
of
conflict
management,
international
bargaining
and
negotiation
has
attracted
the
most
attention.
Scholarly
concern
with
this
method
is
well
established,
and
a
sub-
stantial
body
of
work
exists
to
account
for
the
structure,
tactics,
approaches
to,
and
effectiveness
of
negotiation.
I In
contrast,
the
practice
of
conflict
management
by
third
parties,
although
as
old
as
conflict
itself
and
steadily
growing
in
importance,
remains
the
least
understood.
Today,
just
as
over
two
decades
ago,
’there
is
rela-
tively
little
theoretical
analysis
of
the
mediation
process
and
even
fewer
results
and
conclusions
in
consequence
of
such
analysis’.’
It
is
only
by
going
beyond
anec-
dotal
descriptions
of
single
cases
and
straddling
the
schism
that
separates
those
who
study
it
as
a
structure
from
those
who
study
it
as
a
process
that
a
proper
understanding
of
this
method
of
conflict
management
can
be
achieved.
The
growth
in
the
number
and
intensity
of
inter-
national
disputes
lends
a
sense
of
urgency
to
such
efforts.
II.
THE
NATURE
OF
MEDIATION
Third
parties,
or
mediators,
be
they
indi-
viduals,
representatives
of
states,
or
international
institutions,
may
find
them-
selves
involved
in
an
international
dispute
as
a
result
of
their
own
initiative
or
in
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