UN Mediators in Syria
The Challenges and Responsibilities of Conflict Resolution

Highlights the agency of UN mediators in conflicts like Syria and clarifies the challenges and responsibilities of their roles.

Fadi Nicholas Nassar (Author)

9781009413831, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 May 2024

344 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.4 cm, 0.64 kg

'By showing that mediators can (and do) approach the same issue differently and that their decisions and indecision influence the way a conflict is framed and thus how the UN and other actors position themselves in it, Nassar makes an important contribution to the UN literature and to the practice of mediation. His pleas that mediators ought to be viewed as actors in their own right and that their perceptions, ideas, and modus operandi do have an impact open up the 'black box' of this peculiar and increasingly significant tool of conflict resolution both theoretically and empirically.' Herman T. Salton, International Peacekeeping

Since 2011, the conflict in Syria has been one of the most catastrophic conflicts of our time and a dark stain on the peacemaking abilities of the United Nations (UN). At the heart of this book is a simple but critical question – what do UN mediators tasked with the responsibility to make peace actually do? By explaining this, the book offers a detailed record of what Kofi Annan, Lakhdar Brahimi, and Staffan de Mistura did in their roles as UN mediators in Syria and presents a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics that shaped their decision-making. Beyond the cases of these three mediators, Fadi Nicholas Nassar introduces a method by which to forensically identify a mediator's fingerprints on the peacemaking process and charts a map to examine their decision-making processes. In doing so, it paves the way to evaluate the performance of these mediators – to hold them accountable for their successes and failures.

1. Introduction: Dispelling the Fog of Peace-making
2. The Global Statesman
3. The Quiet Negotiator
4. The Televised Humanitarian
Conclusion: The Fingerprints They Leave Behind
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]