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NEW PAPERBACK EDITION WITH UPDATED PREFACE
Insider reflections on the political and ethical ‘red lines’ that shape talks with armed interlocutors, be they states or insurgents.
After many years in the little-known world of back-channel mediation, helping sworn adversaries to prevent, manage or resolve conflict, Pierre Hazan felt compelled to re-examine the acute practical and ethical dilemmas that affected his work in Bosnia, Ukraine, the Sahel and the Central African Republic. What is the mediator’s responsibility when two belligerents conclude a peace agreement to the detriment of a third? Should mediators never be party to ‘ethnic cleansing’, even if it saves lives? Is a fragile peace worth sacrificing justice for—or will that sacrifice fuel another cycle of violence?
In an increasingly dystopian world, Negotiating with the Devil offers both practical guidelines and a moral compass for mediators whose field of action has transformed dramatically. We have gone from soft to hard power; from ‘peace dividends’ to war in Europe; from the end of one Cold War to a new East–West confrontation in Ukraine; from Pax Americana to a multipolar world; from the dream of an all-powerful UN to the organisation’s marginalisation.
Against this tapestry, Hazan sheds light on the complex work of those steering peace negotiations, blending vivid first-hand observation with sharp insights into the psychology of compromise as a first step towards peace.
Acknowledgements
Preface to the English Edition
PART ONE: IN THE FOG OF THE PEACE PROCESS
1. Exploring Grey Areas
2. Should We Negotiate with the Devil?
3. From Morality to Hubris
4. To Negotiate or Not to Negotiate?
5. The End of Pax Americana
PART TWO: IN SEARCH OF THE LESSER EVIL
6. From Compromise to Complicity?
7. Neutrality in the Face of Genocide
8. Bosnia: Farewell to Neutrality
9. Syria: Mission Impossible
10. The Sahel: Talking with Jihadists
Conclusion: The Deregulation of Force
Notes
Further Reading
Index
Description
NEW PAPERBACK EDITION WITH UPDATED PREFACE
Insider reflections on the political and ethical ‘red lines’ that shape talks with armed interlocutors, be they states or insurgents.
After many years in the little-known world of back-channel mediation, helping sworn adversaries to prevent, manage or resolve conflict, Pierre Hazan felt compelled to re-examine the acute practical and ethical dilemmas that affected his work in Bosnia, Ukraine, the Sahel and the Central African Republic. What is the mediator’s responsibility when two belligerents conclude a peace agreement to the detriment of a third? Should mediators never be party to ‘ethnic cleansing’, even if it saves lives? Is a fragile peace worth sacrificing justice for—or will that sacrifice fuel another cycle of violence?
In an increasingly dystopian world, Negotiating with the Devil offers both practical guidelines and a moral compass for mediators whose field of action has transformed dramatically. We have gone from soft to hard power; from ‘peace dividends’ to war in Europe; from the end of one Cold War to a new East–West confrontation in Ukraine; from Pax Americana to a multipolar world; from the dream of an all-powerful UN to the organisation’s marginalisation.
Against this tapestry, Hazan sheds light on the complex work of those steering peace negotiations, blending vivid first-hand observation with sharp insights into the psychology of compromise as a first step towards peace.
