The Cold War Era Has Been Characterised By Internal And...

The post-Cold War era has been characterised by internal and deep-seated conflicts (Bercovitch 2011:2). Most of the violent conflicts that have arisen in these past decades come from intractable roots, as the conflictive patterns have become part of the social system (Notter and Diamond 1996:2). They stand out by a prolonged – and often violent – struggle by local groups, who are in the need of security, ethnic recognition, equality, access to political institutions or economic participation, among others (Azar 1991:93). In this situation, mediation is a widespread technique for dealing with conflicts. Its main aim is to facilitate the resolution of conflicts, being non-coercive and non-binding. As mediation works with the approval of the parties, it does not involve conflicts with sovereignty, as international intervention does (Greig and Diehl 2012:41). Furthermore, mediation is generally a relevant pillar of a more comprehensive process of peaceful and conflict management (Bercovitch 2011:5). In the case of international peace processes in situations of violent conflict, the mediation technique usually involves the intervention of an outsider. A third-party enters the process to control some aspects, though the ultimate decision remains with the involved parties (Bercovitch and Gartner 2009:5). Mediation methods have spread all around the globe, taking place in a variety of countries with particular cultural, political, economical and social environments (Faget