The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have served not only to sharpen geopolitical tensions, they have seemingly also rendered ineffective a number of diplomatic methods for ending conflicts around the world. This points to the need for alternative tools for preventing and resolving conflict.  ‘Private diplomacy’ has become an increasingly common approach for exploring and ‘pre-cooking’ solutions.

In recent decades the conflict landscape appears to have changed markedly. Geopolitics are back; there has been an uptick in intra- and inter-state conflicts; there are more and more proxy wars and armed non-state actors; and the multilateral system (including the UN) is less integral to peacemaking efforts than it once was. Even more concerning, the sheer number and scale of armed conflicts has ballooned to a level not seen for decades. What does this say about the practice of mediation – is it an outdated tool? Is it simply powerless in countering the resurgence of a ‘might makes right’ mantra? Or does it merely need rethinking and refining to make it fit for purpose?