Studies in International Mediation: Essays in Honor of Jeffrey Z. Rubin.

Edited by Jacob Bercovitch. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. 304p. $75.00 cloth, $24.95 paper.

Jeffrey Rubin died in 1995, leaving a remarkable record of scholarship on conflict resolution and international mediation. As a social psychologist, he was one of the key scholars who furnished genuine interdisciplinary insights into the art and science of mediation. Through these efforts, comparative studies from broad contexts, such as family, labor, and business, have enriched knowledge of third-party intervention in international conflicts. In the spirit of acknowledging Rubin's contributions, Jacob Bercovitch has assembled essays from mediation scholars and practitioners who ponder some of the contemporary themes in the field.

Bercovitch's introductory chapter seeks an overarching theme to the book that is anchored on explanations for effectiveness of mediation in international relations. In the conclusion, he returns to the question of measuring success, drawing much more closely from Rubin's perspectives on the resources of successful mediators. Yet the editor's introduction and conclusion are too modest to do justice to contributions that seem to cover broader conceptual and empirical ground. Perhaps essays that honor an eminent scholar need not stick too rigidly to the conceptual strictures of edited books that are often lambasted for lacking a strong organizing framework. Dispensing with such conventions may allow contributors to sit comfortably and think loudly about the state of the field. This book succeeds not at generating novel knowledge about mediators in a wide array of international conflicts but, rather, in affording prominent scholars and policy analysts the opportunity to reflect (and restate) their own ideas and experiences about mediation.

Peter Carnevale and Dean Pruitt's theoretical chapters reiterate the terms of the debate on the role of power and leverage in mediation. How is power defined and contextualized in mediation? Do powerful mediators prevail over weak ones? Carnevale sidesteps the perennial conflicts about whether power and leverage are crucial to mediation outcomes; instead he makes a useful distinction between strategic and tactical power, concepts that speak to distinctive notions of power and allow a differentiation of structural (resource) and process components of power. Furthermore, in a theme that is subsequently elaborated by Marieke Kleiboer, Carnevale warns that powerful mediators do not always prevail in mediation: They may overreach their hands or become constrained by domestic and international concerns. Similarly, Pruitt's essay adds a perceptual component to I. William Zartman's structural thesis on the factors leading disputants to resolve conflicts. He argues that although third-party intervention works best where parties are already facing an unbearable stalemate, success is dependent on the motivation and optimism of disputants about searching for peace.

There are solid contributions that combine conceptual analysis and case studies, in particular, Karin Aggestam on the Oslo process, Zartman on the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Chad and Congo, Judith Fretter on the United Nations' role in mediation, and Kleiboer's on the United States mediation of the Falkland crisis. Both Zartman and Fretter agree that the ability of international organizations to mediate is hampered by their lack of a corporate identity; instead they muddle through intervention roles by serving as sites of mediation efforts by individuals designated by members of these organizations. The chapter by James Wall, Daniel Druckman, and Paul Diehl attempts to specify the growing mediation roles of international peacekeepers, but it falls short of providing a clear explanation of these roles, ending predictably with what they describe as a “mixed feeling” conclusion: “In the mediation of intense conflicts by peacekeepers as well as civilians, we are able to evaluate the mediation when it fails. However, it is very difficult to evaluate when it is not a failure. Seldom is any intense conflict—in peacekeeping or civilian sectors—totally resolved by mediation” (p. 159).

Larry Dunn and Louis Kreisberg offer an excellent account of the proliferation of mediation and peacemaking activities by transnational organizations, notably nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Long confined to nonofficial, track II, supplementary diplomatic tasks, NGOs have assumed more weighty roles as mediators, oftentimes supplanting official state actors. The NGOs' intervention opportunities and clout stem partly from their proximity to disputants and strategic engagement in conflicts as providers of emergency, humanitarian, and development assistance. Traditionalists decry the intrusion of these actors in peacemaking enterprises, charging that they “crowd” negotiating circuits and “meddle” in areas in which they have the least expertise. Dunn and Kreisberg nonetheless show that given the complexities of contemporary conflicts (especially intercommunal wars), it is more realistic to conceive of multiple intermediaries as service providers, performing differentiated but supplementary roles. The key to managing new transnational actors is how to coordinate their activities with those of governments and international organizations. The theme of coordination and coherence of intermediary roles is also analyzed by Chester Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aal. They contend that although multiple intermediaries invariably increase the likelihood of conflicting interests and positions, varied experiences in the former Yugoslavia, Mozambique, Central America, and Central Africa point to effective coordination of mediation roles.

The academic tribute to Rubin is well deserved. Studies in International Mediation also offers a chance to those who have not had the opportunity to read the primary works of the leading authors that Bercovitch has assembled. Such preliminary exposure probably should be an inspiration for further exploration of their works. Like Pruitt and Carnevale's Negotiation in Social Conflict (1993), this book should be useful in introductory conflict resolution classes.