DEVIOUS OBJECTIVES AND THE DISPUTANTS VIEW OF INTERNATIONAL MEDIATION- A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This article examines the process of international mediation from the perspective of the disputants. It posits that contrary to standard ana lyses, which tend to examine mediation from the perspective of the con flict or the third parry, an examination from the point of view of the disputants provides significant insights into mediation as a form of conflict management From an inside-out perspective, it becomes apparen t that the underlying assumption that a compromise solution is the obj ective of the disputants involved in the mediation process is suspect. Thus, disputants may become involved in a, mediation process in order to improve upon their prospects, but not necessarily in terms of a co mpromise with their adversary. This article argues that a mediation pr ocess carries with it a series of assets that the disputants may value in terms of their pre-negotiation objectives, rather than in terms of the compromise that the previous debates about international mediatio n have indicated. The disputants may therefore harbour 'devious object ives', unrelated to the attainment of a compromise solution, which mig ht include time to regroup and reorganize; internationalization; the s earch for an ally; empowerment; legitimization of their negotiation po sitions and current status; face saving; and avoiding costly concessio ns by prolonging the process itself.