This book examines how new empirical approaches to mediation can shed fresh light on the effectiveness of different patterns of conflict management, and offers guidelines on the process of international mediation.International conflict mediation has become one of, if not the most prominent and important conflict resolution methods of the early 21st century. This book argues that traditional approaches to mediation have been inadequate, and that in order to really understand how the process of international mediation works, studies need to operate within an explicit theoretical framework, adopt systematic empirical approaches and use a diversity of methods to identify critical interactions, contexts and relationships. This volume captures recent important changes in the field of international conflict mediation, and includes essays by leading scholars on a variety of critical aspects of conflict management, using state of the art analytical tools and up to date data.This book will of great interest to scholars of peace and conflict studies, methods in social science, and of International Relations in general.

1: New Approaches, Methods, and Findings in the Study of Mediation Jacob Bercovitch and Scott Gartner Part I: Mediation Strategy 2: Is There Method in the Madness of Mediation? Some Lessons for Mediators from Quantitative Studies of Mediation Jacob Bercovitch and Scott Gartner 3: Third-Party Intermediaries and Negotiated Settlements, 1946-2000 Derrick V. Frazier and William J. Dixon Part II: Mediator Type A. Bias and Information 4: Credibility and Strategy in International Mediation Zeev Maoz and Lesley G. Terris 5: Mediator Types and the Effectiveness of Information Provision Strategies Burcu Savun B. UN & Neutrality 6: Guaranteeing Peace: The Credibility of Third-Party Mediators in Civil Wars Isak Svensson 7: Choosing Sides: UN Resolutions and Non-Neutrality Michelle Benson and Nil Satana Part III: Dispute and Crisis Types 8: Softening Up: Making Conflicts More Amenable to Diplomacy J. Michael Greig and Paul F. Diehl 9: Power Play: Mediation in Symmetric and Asymmetric International Crises David Quinn, Jonathan Wilkenfeld, Kathleen Smarick and Victor Asal 10: Protracted Conflict and Crisis Mediation: a Contingency Approach David Carment, Yiagadeesen Samy and Souleima EL Achkar Part IV: The Conflict Management Environment 11: Practicing Democratic Community Norms: Third Party Conflict Management and Successful Settlements Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, Kelly M. Kadera, Mark J.C. Crescenzi 12: Philippine and Taiwanese Legal Mediation James Wall, Tsungting Chung, Daniel Druckman and Wan Yan Part V: Data 13: Conflict and Mediation Event Observations (CAMEO): An Event Data Framework for a Post Cold War World Deborah J. Gerner, Philip A. Schrodt and Ömür Yilmaz