Leveraging for Peace: The Role of Mediators and International Organizations in Managing Interstate Wars

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/vq27zn85j

Abstract

Conflict management of interstate wars is commonplace in the post-World War II world, as is academic interest in the topic. Mediators and international organizations (IOs) are the most commonly identified actors in conflict management situations, but research that examines their joint effects on ending wars is rare. Most scholars study the independent impact of mediators and IOs on conflict resolution, thus failing to account for potential desirable effects when both actors manage the same conflict. This article provides a theoretical argument and an empirical analysis that address this gap. I argue that mediators and IOs have complementary roles in conflict management, and that each third-party type makes unique contributions to conflict resolution. The argument hinges on the claim that IOs expand the scope of peace incentives that mediators offer to disputants, which makes ending wars more likely. Additionally, through their leverage and institutional mechanisms IOs fill the implementation gap left by mediators after successfully negotiating peace with the disputants, which leads to more durable agreements.

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