Words Over War: Mediation and Arbitration to Prevent Deadly Conflict

by Melanie C. Greenberg (Editor), John H. Barton (Editor)

The international community can creatively and aggressively address deadly conflict through mediation, arbitration, and the development of international institutions to promote reconciliation. The editors of this book designed a systematic framework with which contributors compare third party intervention in twelve conflicts of the post Cold War period. They examine the role of international organizations the United Nations, international development banks, and international law institutions and they analyze the tools and forms of leverage in successful and unsuccessful mediations. Based on the case studies, the editors identify the most effective institutions, make recommendations for improving interventions, and elucidate several important insights into the mediation process and the role of the international community in dispute resolution.

Paperback

First published December 29, 1999

Reviews

[D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book, as its title clearly indicates, is about 'mediation and arbitration to prevent deadly conflict', the publication itself organizes only cases of international mediation. The case studies, included in the book, are (1) conflict in Abkhazia, (2) civil war in Bosnia, (3) independence of Croatia, (4) Oslo negotiations over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, (5) 1991 Cambodia Settlement, (6) El Salvador, (7) Northern Ireland peace process, (8) Arusha Accords and peace process in Rwanda, (9) end of apartheid in South Africa, (10) environmental crisis and conflict in Aral Sea basin, (11) Beagle Channel dispute between Chile and Argentina, and (12) North Korea nuclear proliferation crisis.
Fifteen years later (the book was published in 2000) it is evident that many of the case studies analyzed were not particularly successful: Russian invasion in Georgia, genocide in Rwanda, continuation of North Korean nuclear program, catastrophic situation with the Aral Sea, and continuous tensions between Israel and Palestine.