The Roles, Functions and Effectiveness of the Third Party Mediation in Peace Processes

Abstract

As a result of the transition in warfare since the end of the Cold War, the term peace, which conventionally has been referred to inter-state settlements, became to be affiliated with “the resolution of ethnopolitical conflicts”. In this milieu, mediation has gained more importance in the peace processes proliferated over the last decades, as a non-violent political activity for resolution of those “new-wars” or “micro-conflicts” coming to prominence in recent decades. Mediation is an essential part of the peace processes put in place to find a solution for the conflicts or civil wars. In most of the cases, the success of the peace process largely depends on “the effectiveness and success of the third-party mediation”, among many other factors. Based on this presumption, the thesis aims to explore the roles and effectiveness of third-party mediation in peace processes through the peace and conflict studies literature, by focusing on two cases where third-party mediation has been successfully applied: Northern Ireland Peace and Aceh Peace Process. While the thesis is focused on the former USA senator George Mitchell’s mediation activities in the first case, it analyzes the former Finnish Prime Minister Martti Ahtisaari’s mediation role in the latter. Through these two cases, the thesis descriptively reveals how mediators might be significance to in managing with whole “peace process” in general and helping the negotiators to reach a formal agreement, in particular.