Unofficial Third‐Party Intervention in International Conflict: Between Legitimacy and Disarray

Abstract

The proliferation of unofficial third-party interventions in ethnic conflict is not, to date, based on the demonstrated and enduring value of their achievements. The growing interest in unofficial intervention is not based on clear goals and well-formulated underlying philosophies of the various methods, but more on general assumptions sometimes guided by goodwill and activism. It is quite likely that unofficial intervention in international conflict contributes in various ways toward the resolution of conflict, but, thus far, there is noempirical evidence that the field has contributed or can contribute to the resolution of ethnic conflict.