About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

23 British J. Pol. & Int'l Rel. 3 (2021)

handle is hein.journals/bhjlplcs23 and id is 1 raw text is: .|: Political Studies B .JIIIR. Original Article '!jji soito _ ' The British Journal of Politics and International Relations Third-party knowledge and movoa 331,ol 23() 3 -21 © The Author(s) 2020 success in civil war m ediation Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1 177/1369148120930674 journals.sagepub.com/home/bpi OSAGE Krista Wiegand', Erin Rowland2 and Eric Keels' Abstract Within this article, we explore how third-party knowledge of ongoing conflicts shapes the ability of mediators to successfully end conflicts through negotiated settlements. Since the primary role of mediators is to share information, and combatants have incentives to misrepresent information, contextual knowledge about the conflict and actors is critical. We argue that experienced diplomats with greater knowledge of the civil war state, close knowledge of the combatants, and connections with civil society are less vulnerable and more effective in mediation efforts. We propose that third parties seeking a diplomatic solution to ongoing conflicts may be more successful when they maintain strong diplomatic knowledge of the disputants as well as knowledge of the processes by which previous mediation efforts have attempted to resolve the dispute. Using a seemingly unrelated bivariate probit model on peace agreements from 1989 to 2005, we find strong support that diplomatic knowledge matters significantly. Keywords bargaining, civil war, diplomacy, information, knowledge, mediation Introduction As the Syrian civil war approaches its ninth year, the international community is once again launching renewed efforts to bring the parties to the negotiating table to settle the dispute. At the same time, regional partners and international organisations are restarting talks between the South Sudanese Government and the rebel forces, Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO). The new talks in the South Sudanese civil war are being revived in the shadow of the failed 2015 peace process, which opened a new chapter of instability in the world's youngest country. The stakes are high for inter- national mediation efforts. Though the international community has many tools to man- age ongoing conflicts, mediation represents one of the most attractive options (Regan et al., 2009). Diplomatic interventions are relatively inexpensive as compared with 'Department of Political Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TX, USA 2Department of Political Science, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL, USA 'One Earth Future Foundation, Broomfield, CO, USA Corresponding author: Eric Keels, One Earth Future Foundation, Broomfield, CO 80021-8233, USA. Email: erickeels@gmail.com

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most