Call for Papers: “Changes in the Global Mediation Practice: Exploring Emerging and Established Actors”

CALL FOR PAPERS Special Issue (Spring 2026) on “Changes in the Global Mediation Practice: Exploring Emerging and Established Actors” Guest Editor: Esra Çuhadar

Uluslararası İlişkiler | International Relations is pleased to announce a special issue titled "Changes in the Global Mediation Practice: Exploring Emerging and Established Actors."

This special issue aims to contribute to the literature on conflict resolution by analyzing three recent developments in the global mediation practice. First is a shift from the UN's dominance in mediating comprehensive peace accords in the 1990s to more ad hoc and fragmented mediation efforts currently. Second is the increasing number of state mediators in addition to the traditional actors like the UN and the EU (Bell, 2024; Palmiano Federer, 2024). Especially the rise of new influential mediators such as Angola, Brazil, Kenya, Oman, Qatar, South Africa, and Türkiye exemplify the inclusion of the Global South into the Western-dominated practice (Call and Coning, 2017). Third is a growing trend towards inclusivity in peace processes. While the inclusion of women and youth has become an accepter normative practice backed by the UN Security Council Resolutions, other marginalized voices like indigenous communities, civil society, religious actors, and business actors have also played critical roles in recent peace processes.

The special issue welcomes innovative and analytical essays that address various aspects of these recent developments in the global mediation practice. We welcome theoretical and empirical contributions on topics such as:

• Innovative strategies and approaches to conflict resolution by newly emerging actors • Comparative analysis of mediation practices by traditional and emerging actors • Possible conflicts, coordination, coherence, and cases of successful collaborations in fragmented efforts of multiple actors • Case studies about state mediators, Global South actors, and new participants at the negotiation table, especially from Global South.

All submissions will be reviewed by two referees. The manuscripts should be between 6000-8000 words in length and comply with the author guidelines on the journal website (https://uidergisi.com.tr/styleguidelines).

Abstracts of approximately 300 words should be sent directly to the guest editor, Dr. Esra Çuhadar from Bilkent University, at [email protected] by 30 October 2024.

Authors of selected abstracts will be notified by 30 November 2024.

The deadline for final paper submissions will be 30 April 2025. The special issue is scheduled for publication in Spring 2026. However, accepted papers will be published online before the special issue's scheduled date.