African mediation in high-intensity conflict

Abstract

Is mediation of high-intensity conflict in Africa distinctly African? This chapter puts the ‘African solutions to African problems’ motto under scrutiny and assesses the African character of mediation in three different respects: identity of the mediation actors, strategy and style of mediation, and content of mediated agreements. The study finds that this character is not equally distinct in all respects. An African specificity appears to prevail with regard to mediation actors, the result of a consensus on mediation in major conflicts being led by the African Union and the regional economic communities. The level of specificity then lowers on the issue of the content of mediated agreement and appears minimal on the style and strategy of mediation which closely mirrors the United Nations norms and guidelines. African mediation shows a general preference for liberal democratic governance combined with power-sharing agreements. But while mediations expose a de jure liberal and democratic content, de facto practice of governance highlights an illiberal and exclusionary nature.