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The course provides an in-depth study of the current state of the art of international mediation. The aim is to systematically approach the various uses, techniques, and problems of using mediation as a form of third party intervention to manage, resolve, or transform international conflicts. The course will offer an analysis of the history and development of international mediation as a distinct form of conflict management. The students will also get familiar with various factors that affect both the process and the outcome of international mediation. Frist of all, the course will cover a variety of contextual factors that condition any process of international mediation, such as the nature of the dispute (i.e. levels of intractability, degree of violence used, and issues at stake), disputants’ characteristics (i.e. power symmetries and asymmetries in conflict, strategies and tactics used in conflict, and capacities to rally international support) and mediators’ characteristics (i.e. perceived credibility, reputation, bias, interests and leverage which they may employ in the dispute). Secondly, the course will also provide an analysis of various behavioral factors (i.e. mediation strategies) that affect the process and outcome of international mediation. Finally, the students will also study the importance of specific types of agreements that are reached through mediation and their particular impact on both the short and long run. After completing the course the students will be able to better analyze and understand international conflicts and indicate how and why international mediation takes place. <a href="http://bit.ly/1bebp5s" target="_blank">Click here to see evaluations, syllabi, and faculty bios</a>