Frequency and timing of leaders' mediation attempts

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1628609

How do a state's political regime type and power status influence leader's mediation attempts? This study develops an explanation as a response to this question derived from the democratic peace theory which underlines the role of democratic norms in motivating state leaders to play a third party role in peace processes. Based on this approach, the expectation is that democratic country representatives are more likely to mediate especially in the early stage of their careers. In addition, I argue that the frequency and timing of leaders mediation attempts are influenced by the state's regime types and power status. To conduct this research, I analyze the mediation activities initiated by state leaders between 1933 and 1999. The findings suggest that leaders of both democratic and anocratic regimes attempt for mediation sooner than the leaders of autocratic regimes. The study also found that major powers have the highest number of mediation attempts only if the mediator is representing a democratic state. The main finding is that effect of regime type may change based on power status.