Unpacking the Mystery of Mediation in African Peace ... - Swisspeace

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Unpacking the Mystery of Mediation in African Peace Processes is tricky, but not impossible if it is done carefully. The first reason why this comparison is delicate is due to the multi-causal nature of peace processes – what was the key factor affecting the outcome: the nature of the conflict, the negotiating parties, the mediators, the process, the peace agreement, the context, or something else? As all these aspects are interlinked, comparing them in isolation is problematic. The second reason why comparison is tricky is due to the significant difference in scale between a basic agreement on principles or cessation of hostilities on the one hand, and a full-blown comprehensive peace agreement on the other. For example, the pre-talks agreement in the Central African Republic (CAR) or the Tuareg or Somalia ceasefire agreements consist of only a very few pages, where implementation modalities are missing. The Kivu talks took place over a period of some 17 days. In contrast, the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement is a 260-page document addressing major security, political, institutional, and constitutional aspects. The negotiations that led to the agreement took nearly three full years. Therefore, the comparison is not just between apples and oranges; one is actually comparing peanuts with pumpkins! Nevertheless, the advantage of such a comparative approach is that the tentative lessons one generates are of a more general value than if they are derived from one case only. The problems of interlinkages between factors and the very different scales must be kept in mind, however, and any lessons from these comparisons should also 8 be seen as working hypotheses, or as food for further study, rather than as truth writ in stone. Case selection: How were the cases selected? We focused on cases in Africa to limit the scope of the study. The comparison between mediation processes is also easier within one continent, as the conflicts are more likely to share at least some common denominators, such as a similar geopolitical context or the importance of the regional dimension (conflict spill-over). Most conflicts experienced numerous peace processes, making the choice of a specific peace process difficult. The two criteria of selection were: First, the process was to be a recent one, e.g., one that had occurred during the last ten years. The second condition was that sufficient material had to be available to provide lessons about the nuts and bolts of mediation. This micro-level view on mediation does not make sense without an understanding of how the mediation approach adopted fits the respective conflict context. For this reason, we also describe the context of the various cases and explain how the mediation engagement is embedded therein. The peace processes we analyze are: Burundi (Arusha Accords 2000), Central African Republic (pretalks 2007), Democratic Republic of Congo (Kivu process 2008), Ivory Coast (Ouagadougou negotiations 2007), Kenya (post election peace negotiations 2008), Somalia (Khartoum negotiations 2006), Sudan (North-South negotiations 2005), Sudan (Darfur Peace Process 2006), Mali/Niger- Tuareg (Libyan led talks 2007), Uganda LRA (Juba negotiations 2008), and Western Sahara (UN-led negotiations 2003). A summary of the cases, parties, and mediators, can be found in map 1.
Mediation in African Peace Processes: Carefully Comparing Apples and Oranges Map 1: Mediation processes examined in this study 9
Page 1 and 2: Unpacking the Mystery of Mediation
Page 3: Table of Content Foreword..........
Page 7: “If you want to make peace with y
Page 11 and 12: Mediation in African Peace Processe
Page 21 and 22: Burundi, Arusha Peace Process Burun
Page 23 and 24: Burundi, Arusha Peace Process ing t
Page 25 and 26: Burundi, Arusha Peace Process idea
Page 27 and 28: Burundi, Arusha Peace Process insti
Page 29 and 30: Central African Republic, Inclusive
Page 35 and 36: Côte d’Ivoire, Ouagadougou Agree
Page 41 and 42: D. R. Congo/Kivu, Conference on Pea
Page 47 and 48: Kenya, The National Accord and Reco
Page 55 and 56: North-Mali and North-Niger, Libya E
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North-Mali and North-Niger, Libya E
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Northern Uganda, Juba Negotiations
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Somalia, Khartoum Negotiations 2006
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Sudan, North-South Comprehensive Pe
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Sudan/Darfur, Abuja Negotiations an
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Western Sahara, The Baker Plans Wes
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Western Sahara, The Baker Plans poi
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Western Sahara, The Baker Plans as
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Unpacking the Mystery of Mediation
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Acronyms MSU UN Mediation Support U
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Unpacking the Mystery of Mediation in African Peace ... - Swisspeace

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