DİPLOMASİ

An example of a negotiation process which is used as a tactic to gain time is the talks between the government of Sri Lanka and Tamil Tigers (Weiss 2011). The fight between the government forces and Tamil Tigers, a secessionist guerrilla group, lasted more than two decades and caused thousands of casualties on both parties. The negotiations between the parties were initiated once again in early 2008, yet the failure of the process triggered a heavy assault by the government forces on Tamil Tigers in early 2009. In May 2009, the government declared victory and Tigers admitted the defeat. Later, it was understood that the government of Sri Lanka was actually using the negotiation process which was relatively calm and peaceful to prepare for a final attack to defeat the Tigers decisively and annihilate the organization. In fact, it was clear that Sri Lankan army was mobilizing and preparing for the attack since a long time frame including the negotiation period.

Win-set is a term coined by Robert Putnam in his famous article that he developed a framework for foreign policy decision-making (Putnam, 1988). According to Putnam’s framework, win-set of an actor can be defined as any desirable outcome from an international bargaining process. In other words, any outcome within the range of its win-set would be considered as gain by the actor. The formation of this win-set, according to Putnam, is directly related with the domestic political dynamics. Therefore, win-sets that determine the foreign policy agenda of a country is directly connected with the domestic politics of that country, according to Putnam’s framework.

The dispute between Argentina and Uruguay on the Uruguay River is mediated by the King of Spain.

Switzerland as a “neutral country” for more than 600 years (Kriesi and Trechsel 2008), offered mediation to Spanish and Catalonian parties after emergence of crisis following the independence referendum in Catalonia in 2017.

Norway has played mediator role in several disputes and its capital Oslo has been home to several peace talks such as the one between Israel and Palestine.

Canada played a significant role in the gathering of Ottawa Convention on Ban on Land Mines (Anderson 2000). As a medium sized state, Canada has opened itself a space in world politics by initiating such an important process which turned into a binding agreement for more than 140 countries.

Another good example of small state mediation is the initiative of Algeria in the settlement of Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979.

Former president of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari has served as a mediator in the settlement of various conflicts varying from conflict between the Indonesian government and Aceh region to Kosovo conflict (Ahtisaari, 2008; Perrit, 2010). In fact, Ahtisaari became a prominent figure in international mediation practices especially after his retirement from Finnish politics and took initiative himself to prompt international society to take more active initiative in the settlement of international crises. For his efforts, he was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2008.

After mediation and negotiation practices, parties agreed on several diplomatic agreements which brought peace. Lomé Peace Accord, for example, is the peace agreement signed by Sierra Leonean government and Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and its leader Foday Sankoh in 1999, which ended the civil war in Sierra Leone (Abraham 2001).

Mediation may be defined as a process in which disputants attempt to resolve their differences with the assistance of an acceptable third party.

First thing to clarify is to emphasize that the term negotiation refers to the process instead of the outcome.

The formation of this win-set, according to Putnam, is directly related with the domestic political dynamics.

DDR stands for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.

Success of negotiations is directly dependent upon the attitudes of the negotiating parties.

The need for and use of mediation in diplomatic practices usually appear when there is a protracted conflict between two or more parties.

Mediation is a non-coercive, non-violent and ultimately nonbinding.

Norway has played mediator role in several disputes and its capital Oslo has been home to several peace talks such as the one between Israel and Palestine. Canada played a significant role in the gathering of Ottawa Convention on Ban on Land Mines. Switzerland as a “neutral country” for more than 600 years offered mediation to Spanish and Catalonian parties.Another good example of small state mediation is the initiative of Algeria in the settlement of Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979.

We can mention two main types of mediation: formal and informal.

A diplomatic agreement or protocol is a binding legal text produced through negotiations between disputing parties to institutionalize the conditions agreed.

Ratification is a final step for an international diplomatic agreement to be put in practice.