R&L Logo R&L Logo
  • GENERAL
    • Browse by Subjects
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Chases's Calendar
  • ACADEMIC
    • Textbooks
    • Browse by Course
    • Instructor's Copies
    • Monographs & Research
    • Reference
  • PROFESSIONAL
    • Education
    • Intelligence & Security
    • Library Services
    • Business & Leadership
    • Museum Studies
    • Music
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Psychotherapy
  • FREUD SET
Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
eBook
share of facebook share on twitter
Add to GoodReads

Good Mediator

Relational Characteristics of Effective Mediators

Su-Mi Lee

This book examines how mediators’ relational characteristics can alter the outcome of mediation in international militarized disputes. Rather than focusing on neutrality and bias that are rigorously discussed in the mediation literature, this book redefines the sources of effective mediators, impartiality and interest, and shows how such seemingly opposing characteristics of a mediator can lead to successful mediation through different channels, complementing each other. This book also uncovers the two dimensions of mediator trust, fairness and capacity. For mediation to be successful, disputants must trust that mediators are fair and capable of leading to successful mediation. The identification of these two sources is crucial as each of the two relational characteristics of mediators’ discussed above improves each dimension of the mediator trust. Moreover, this book explores how impartial and interested mediators are more or less effective in particular conflicts characterized by the nature of dispute, the nature of disputants’ relationships, and the nature of mediators. The book’s empirical analysis as well as case studies on the mediation cases led by the Philippines and Syria in the Borneo confrontation and Yemen dispute, respectively, demonstrate how the levels of mediator impartiality and mediator interest counterbalance each other in leading to mediation success.
  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
Lexington Books
Pages: 124 • Trim: 6¼ x 9
978-1-4985-8081-6 • Hardback • February 2019 • $99.00 • (£76.00)
978-1-4985-8083-0 • Paperback • June 2021 • $44.99 • (£35.00)
978-1-4985-8082-3 • eBook • February 2019 • $42.50 • (£35.00)
Subjects: Political Science / Peace, Family & Relationships / Conflict Resolution, Political Science / General
Su-Mi Lee is assistant professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo.
Chapter One: Mediation

Chapter Two: Mediation and Mediator Trust

Chapter Three: Mediators’ Relational Characteristics: Impartiality and Interest

Chapter Four: Two Dimensions of Trust and Two Relational Characteristics of Mediators

Chapter Five: Mediation for the Borneo Dispute and the Yemen Dispute

Chapter Six: Good Mediators

Lee (political science, Univ. of Hawai'i, Hilo) is interested in international relations, and in this volume she grapples with two sets of literature on mediation, one concerning disputants' trust in the mediator and the other the mediator's impartiality and interest in the dispute. She bridges these by separating trust into fairness and capacity and then linking fairness to impartiality and capacity to interest—ultimately arguing that the sum of impartiality and interest is the best predictor of both mediator occurrence and mediation success. High impartiality and high interest are best, but moderate impartiality can be offset by high interest and moderate interest can be offset by high impartiality. Two case studies examine whether interest alone or impartiality alone lead to mediation success. Lee's evidence is, at its core, statistical in nature, and she convincingly demonstrates that though the measure of impartiality predicts mediator occurrence and the measure of interest (weakly) predicts mediation success, only the sum of impartiality and interest predict both mediator occurrence and mediation success.

Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.
— Choice Reviews


Good Mediator: Relational Characteristics of Effective Mediators is a noteworthy contribution to the conflict management field that deepens our understanding of the forces that drive successful international mediation. The book advances knowledge in the field by nicely unpacking, in ways that have been overlooked by previous research, the roles that mediator impartiality and interest play in shaping the outcome of mediation. Dr. Lee combines both a compelling theoretical narrative and rigorous empirical analysis of mediation, making the book an important resource for both students and practitioners of international mediation.
— J. Michael Greig, University of North Texas


Lee brings interesting new light to old issues in regard to mediation and in the process provides characteristics of an effective mediator in well-defined circumstances, using both big data and small cases. Her interacting variables are interest and bias, with resources, weight, and conflict stages added as context variables. This book surveys a large number of instances and uses statistical analysis to bring out clear conclusions. Lee then tests her ideas on two cases--Borneo and Yemen--to see how they land on the ground. The study will not lay to rest the debates over interest and bias as a help or hindrance to effective mediation but it will enrich.
— William Zartman, Johns Hopkins University


Good Mediator

Relational Characteristics of Effective Mediators

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • This book examines how mediators’ relational characteristics can alter the outcome of mediation in international militarized disputes. Rather than focusing on neutrality and bias that are rigorously discussed in the mediation literature, this book redefines the sources of effective mediators, impartiality and interest, and shows how such seemingly opposing characteristics of a mediator can lead to successful mediation through different channels, complementing each other. This book also uncovers the two dimensions of mediator trust, fairness and capacity. For mediation to be successful, disputants must trust that mediators are fair and capable of leading to successful mediation. The identification of these two sources is crucial as each of the two relational characteristics of mediators’ discussed above improves each dimension of the mediator trust. Moreover, this book explores how impartial and interested mediators are more or less effective in particular conflicts characterized by the nature of dispute, the nature of disputants’ relationships, and the nature of mediators. The book’s empirical analysis as well as case studies on the mediation cases led by the Philippines and Syria in the Borneo confrontation and Yemen dispute, respectively, demonstrate how the levels of mediator impartiality and mediator interest counterbalance each other in leading to mediation success.
Details
Details
  • Lexington Books
    Pages: 124 • Trim: 6¼ x 9
    978-1-4985-8081-6 • Hardback • February 2019 • $99.00 • (£76.00)
    978-1-4985-8083-0 • Paperback • June 2021 • $44.99 • (£35.00)
    978-1-4985-8082-3 • eBook • February 2019 • $42.50 • (£35.00)
    Subjects: Political Science / Peace, Family & Relationships / Conflict Resolution, Political Science / General
Author
Author
  • Su-Mi Lee is assistant professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Chapter One: Mediation

    Chapter Two: Mediation and Mediator Trust

    Chapter Three: Mediators’ Relational Characteristics: Impartiality and Interest

    Chapter Four: Two Dimensions of Trust and Two Relational Characteristics of Mediators

    Chapter Five: Mediation for the Borneo Dispute and the Yemen Dispute

    Chapter Six: Good Mediators
Reviews
Reviews
  • Lee (political science, Univ. of Hawai'i, Hilo) is interested in international relations, and in this volume she grapples with two sets of literature on mediation, one concerning disputants' trust in the mediator and the other the mediator's impartiality and interest in the dispute. She bridges these by separating trust into fairness and capacity and then linking fairness to impartiality and capacity to interest—ultimately arguing that the sum of impartiality and interest is the best predictor of both mediator occurrence and mediation success. High impartiality and high interest are best, but moderate impartiality can be offset by high interest and moderate interest can be offset by high impartiality. Two case studies examine whether interest alone or impartiality alone lead to mediation success. Lee's evidence is, at its core, statistical in nature, and she convincingly demonstrates that though the measure of impartiality predicts mediator occurrence and the measure of interest (weakly) predicts mediation success, only the sum of impartiality and interest predict both mediator occurrence and mediation success.

    Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.
    — Choice Reviews


    Good Mediator: Relational Characteristics of Effective Mediators is a noteworthy contribution to the conflict management field that deepens our understanding of the forces that drive successful international mediation. The book advances knowledge in the field by nicely unpacking, in ways that have been overlooked by previous research, the roles that mediator impartiality and interest play in shaping the outcome of mediation. Dr. Lee combines both a compelling theoretical narrative and rigorous empirical analysis of mediation, making the book an important resource for both students and practitioners of international mediation.
    — J. Michael Greig, University of North Texas


    Lee brings interesting new light to old issues in regard to mediation and in the process provides characteristics of an effective mediator in well-defined circumstances, using both big data and small cases. Her interacting variables are interest and bias, with resources, weight, and conflict stages added as context variables. This book surveys a large number of instances and uses statistical analysis to bring out clear conclusions. Lee then tests her ideas on two cases--Borneo and Yemen--to see how they land on the ground. The study will not lay to rest the debates over interest and bias as a help or hindrance to effective mediation but it will enrich.
    — William Zartman, Johns Hopkins University


ALSO AVAILABLE

  • Cover image for the book Reenvisioning Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution in Islam
  • Cover image for the book Rethinking Peace: Discourse, Memory, Translation, and Dialogue
  • Cover image for the book A Prophet of Modern Delusions: Tolstoy’s Critique of Modernity
  • Cover image for the book Choosing Peace: Agency and Action in the Midst of War
  • Cover image for the book Transformative Change: An Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Cover image for the book New Directions in Peacebuilding Evaluation
  • Cover image for the book Wartime Sexual Violence against Men: Masculinities and Power in Conflict Zones
  • Cover image for the book Creating the Third Force: Indigenous Processes of Peacemaking
  • Cover image for the book Ethics for Peacebuilders: A Practical Guide
  • Cover image for the book Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy
  • Cover image for the book How to Resolve Conflict: A Practical Mediation Manual
  • Cover image for the book Finding Gender Equality in the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda: From Global Promises to National Accountability
  • Cover image for the book From Camp David to Cast Lead: Essays on Israel, Palestine, and the Future of the Peace Process
  • Cover image for the book The War on Terror and Terror of War: Bellicose Nationalism versus Peace and Democracy
  • Cover image for the book Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity: Servant Leadership as a Way of Life
  • Cover image for the book Champions for Peace: Women Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book Faith-Based Organizations in Transnational Peacebuilding
  • Cover image for the book War Is Hell: Studies in the Right of Legitimate Violence
  • Cover image for the book Unsettling Empathy: Working with Groups in Conflict
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Multinational Peacekeeping, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book Making Peace with Faith: The Challenges of Religion and Peacebuilding
  • Cover image for the book The Rondine Method: A Relational Approach to Conflict
  • Cover image for the book Interrogating Illiberal Peace in Eurasia: Critical Perspectives on Peace and Conflict
  • Cover image for the book Just War in Religion and Politics
  • Cover image for the book Civil Society, Peace, and Power
  • Cover image for the book Engaging Adversaries: Peacemaking and Diplomacy in the Human Interest
  • Cover image for the book Criminalized Power Structures: The Overlooked Enemies of Peace
  • Cover image for the book Reenvisioning Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution in Islam
  • Cover image for the book Rethinking Peace: Discourse, Memory, Translation, and Dialogue
  • Cover image for the book A Prophet of Modern Delusions: Tolstoy’s Critique of Modernity
  • Cover image for the book Choosing Peace: Agency and Action in the Midst of War
  • Cover image for the book Transformative Change: An Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies
  • Cover image for the book New Directions in Peacebuilding Evaluation
  • Cover image for the book Wartime Sexual Violence against Men: Masculinities and Power in Conflict Zones
  • Cover image for the book Creating the Third Force: Indigenous Processes of Peacemaking
  • Cover image for the book Ethics for Peacebuilders: A Practical Guide
  • Cover image for the book Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy
  • Cover image for the book How to Resolve Conflict: A Practical Mediation Manual
  • Cover image for the book Finding Gender Equality in the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda: From Global Promises to National Accountability
  • Cover image for the book From Camp David to Cast Lead: Essays on Israel, Palestine, and the Future of the Peace Process
  • Cover image for the book The War on Terror and Terror of War: Bellicose Nationalism versus Peace and Democracy
  • Cover image for the book Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity: Servant Leadership as a Way of Life
  • Cover image for the book Champions for Peace: Women Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book Faith-Based Organizations in Transnational Peacebuilding
  • Cover image for the book War Is Hell: Studies in the Right of Legitimate Violence
  • Cover image for the book Unsettling Empathy: Working with Groups in Conflict
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Multinational Peacekeeping, Third Edition
  • Cover image for the book Making Peace with Faith: The Challenges of Religion and Peacebuilding
  • Cover image for the book The Rondine Method: A Relational Approach to Conflict
  • Cover image for the book Interrogating Illiberal Peace in Eurasia: Critical Perspectives on Peace and Conflict
  • Cover image for the book Just War in Religion and Politics
  • Cover image for the book Civil Society, Peace, and Power
  • Cover image for the book Engaging Adversaries: Peacemaking and Diplomacy in the Human Interest
  • Cover image for the book Criminalized Power Structures: The Overlooked Enemies of Peace
facebook icon twitter icon instagram icon linked in icon NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
  • Mission Statement
  • Employment
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Statement
CONTACT
  • Company Directory
  • Publicity and Media Queries
  • Rights and Permissions
  • Textbook Resource Center
AUTHOR RESOURCES
  • Royalty Contact
  • Production Guidelines
  • Manuscript Submissions
ORDERING INFORMATION
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • National Book Network
  • Ingram Publisher Services UK
  • Special Sales
  • International Sales
  • eBook Partners
  • Digital Catalogs
IMPRINTS
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • Lexington Books
  • Hamilton Books
  • Applause Books
  • Amadeus Press
  • Backbeat Books
  • Bernan
  • Hal Leonard Books
  • Limelight Editions
  • Co-Publishing Partners
  • Globe Pequot
  • Down East Books
  • Falcon Guides
  • Gooseberry Patch
  • Lyons Press
  • Muddy Boots
  • Pineapple Press
  • TwoDot Books
  • Stackpole Books
PARTNERS
  • American Alliance of Museums
  • American Association for State and Local History
  • Brookings Institution Press
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
  • Fortress Press
  • The Foundation for Critical Thinking
  • Lehigh University Press
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Other Partners...