Marching Orders: Exploring the Mediation Mandate

This article addresses a major gap in the literature on international mediation by investigating the significance of the mediation mandate. It identifies different types of mediation mandate and examines their functions and effects. A mandate issued by a multilateral organization serves as instructions to the mediator and sets the parameters of the process and outcome of peacemaking. It can therefore have a crucial impact on the orientation, trajectory, and results of mediation. It can contribute to success by conferring legitimacy on the mediation and endowing the mediator with authority, status, and leverage. It can also impair the effectiveness of mediation by provoking tension between the mediating body and other multilateral organizations, the mediator, and the conflict parties.