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interpersonal, organizational, industrial, national and international relations. Mediation as a conflict management mechanism has
only recently been studied in a systematic and empirical manner. The purpose of this article is to build upon the extant literature, and to suggest, through the use of original information, the determinants of successful mediation in international conflict.
The context and process variables in this article are classified under four categories: (1) the nature of the disputing parties, (2) the nature of the dispute itself, (3) the identity and characteristics of the mediator, and (4) the strategies and tactics which the mediator employs. This is a prelminary study which intends to offer tentative hypotheses about those factors which influence the success of international mediation and, more importantly, to speculate on the nature and centrality of that influence. Examining the factors involved in a more in depth and systematic fashion will help us answer the questions of when and how to mediate.