3RD-PARTY ROLES IN THE TERMINATION OF INTERCOMMUNAL CONFLICT

This article undertakes a comparative assessment of the key assumption s-both about conflict and third-party roles-underlying four different schools of intervention. These schools are classified as hard realism and soft realism, which have a state-security orientation; psychologic al approaches, which have a societal or human security-based orientati on; and governance-based approaches, which focus on state-society link ages and third-party roles in developing, strengthening, or transformi ng those linkages. Further, the article maintains that there is a clos e relationship between the way third-party roles are defined and the t reatment of causes of intercommunal conflict. Second, the article cont ends that, although these different approaches to third-party interven tion are rooted in different disciplinary perspectives, they should no t be viewed as mutually exclusive alternatives. Noting that there are complementary elements in each approach, the author argues that we sho uld not be wedded to a narrow view about the causes of intercommunal c onflict, nor should we limit the potential intervention strategies ava ilable to a wide range of third parties to manage, settle, or resolve intercommunal conflicts.