Formal and Quasi-Mediators in International Disputes: An Exploratory Analysis

The distinction is made between mediating services provided to ameliorate international conflicts and who provides the services. The services may be provided by a person, group, or organization playing the role of a mediator, or by a quasi-mediator, a social entity not so designated, who may even be a member of one of the adversaries. The paper examines the kind of contribution social units providing mediating services, but playing different roles, can and do make towards de-escalating international conflicts. The implications of this distinction are examined for various stages of conflict de-escalation: preparing for negotiations, starting them, conducting them, reaching mutual accommodative agreements and sustaining them. Evidence is drawn from cases of mediation conducted officially and non-officially, especially in the US-Soviet and Arab-Israeli conflicts. Certain kinds of mediating actions can be especially well provided by one kind of provider compared to another and the effectiveness of different actions also varies with the stage of the conflict in which the mediating service is conducted.