Talking to Groups that Use Terror.pdf - United States Institute of Peace

Peacemaker’s Toolkitearlier, the very act of negotiation can also gradually diminish a PAG’sappetite (and, indeed, the appetite of its opponent) for violence. And anegotiation or mediation that produces no final settlement but doesproduce fewer deaths can hardly be considered a complete failure.Patience, however, is a virtue only for so long or so far. Some PAGsenter negotiations merely to buy themselves some breathing room inwhich to regroup and rearm. When confronted with persuasive evidenceof this attitude, the mediator or negotiator should promptly terminate anyongoing talks, while leaving the door open for the PAG to reenternegotiations should it be prepared to do so in good faith. Other PAGs areprepared to negotiate but not to compromise in any significant way, andthus the negotiation becomes largely pointless. It takes time for a mediatoror negotiator—and for the PAG itself sometimes—to recognize that noamount of reframing of issues, rewording of demands, or deploying ofconfidence-building measures will alter a PAG’s fundamental refusal tocompromise. But once this is recognized, the mediator or negotiatorshould wind down the talks or impose a deadline for doing so unless thePAG relents.In the face of understandable and widespread skepticism about a PAG’sreadiness to lay down its arms and embrace nonviolent political means, itshould be remembered that sometimes such deadlines actually work. So,sometimes, do the other techniques described in this handbook forfostering commitment to the process and yielding an agreement. And,sometimes, those agreements have stuck. They have tended to stick whenthey have included specific kinds of provisions, such as mechanisms toresolve disputes over implementation, a realistic timetable forimplementation, strong external guarantors, and provisions that result notonly in a cessation of violence but also in tangible economic and politicalbenefits for the constituency a PAG represents. A mediator shouldencourage the parties to adopt similar provisions as they negotiate theiragreement and should seek to recruit external actors who can help in orfund implementation.All the patience in the world, all the wisdom of Solomon in decidingwhen patience is being abused or wasted, and all the most sensibleprovisions cannot guarantee enduring peace. There are limits to what amediator or negotiator can achieve, as evidenced by a long list of fruitlessnegotiations and a somewhat shorter list of failed peace agreements92