Policy brief: The role of norms in international peace mediation
This policy brief assesses the role of norms in international peace mediation. Despite the topic attracting growing attention, the ways in which norms influence mediation processes are often not analysed systematically but rather prescriptively. In order to shed light on this debate from an analytical point of view, the brief suggests a three-step analytical framework. First, it suggests a categorisation of norms, then it assesses how mediators prioritise norms within this framework and finally it calls for a context-specific inclusion of norms in mediation processes. Thus, it argues that explicitly elucidating the different categories of norms, as well as their prioritisation by mediators, mandate-givers and negotiating parties, will lead to a more constructive debate and provide sustainable solutions that are owned by national, and supported by international, actors.
Policy brief
Published
Authors
Sara Hellmüller holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Basel. She joined swisspeace in 2009. She works as a researcher and programme officer in the Mediation Programme and is the swisspeace research coordinator and regional focal point for Syria. Before joining swisspeace, she interned with the United Nations Development Program in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Swiss Embassy in Nigeria and with local non-governmental organisations in Mongolia and South Africa.
Julia Palmiano Federer holds a MA in International Affairs from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Before joining swisspeace, she interned with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Human Rights Watch and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. She has also worked as a research assistant for the Political Science Department of the University of British Columbia and as a project assistant for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada.
Mathias Zeller holds a MA in International Affairs from New York’s Columbia University. He spent three months in 2013 with the Mediation Support Unit of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs in New York. He joined swisspeace in July 2012 as a programme officer in the Mediation Programme. Before joining swisspeace, he interned with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, supporting the mediation desk and the peace policy programmes in Indonesia and Thailand.
License
Copyright NOREF