Evaluating the Explanatory Value of Brahimi and Ahmed’S Seven Deadly Sins of Mediation: the Case of the Malagasy Mediation of 2009-2014
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EVALUATING THE EXPLANATORY VALUE OF BRAHIMI AND AHMED’S SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF MEDIATION: THE CASE OF THE MALAGASY MEDIATION OF 2009-2014 by Nthati Masupha Student number: 29400512 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF SECURITY STUDIES Department of Political Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of Pretoria Supervisor : Prof. M Schoeman APRIL 2019 DECLARATION I declare that this dissertation, which I hereby submit for the degree Master of Security Studies at the University of Pretoria, is my own work and has not been previously submitted by me for a degree at this or any other university. …………………………… Nthati Masupha April 2019 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without the insightful guidance and patience of Prof. Maxi Schoeman, my supervisor. I gratefully acknowledge the support I received from Mastory, Mantsekhe and Kholu Masupha, together with Pati Mota, in believing that I would complete this piece of research. Thabo Khoboko, thank you for following up on my progress incessantly, and Mr Henwood, thank you for your support as well. Most importantly, I acknowledge that God’s grace has proved enough in the completion of this dissertation, and His power has been perfect through the challenges of this work. ii ABSTRACT The pursuit of international peace and security continues to lead international actors to pacify conflicts that could potentially evolve into or have already employed violence. In line with this pursuit, international mediation practitioners, Lakhdar Brahimi and Salman Ahmed, have observed seven variables, which they refer to as ‘The seven deadly sins of mediation’, that contribute to ineffective mediation and consequentially jeopardise the quality of the resultant peace. Testifying that mediation is a difficult undertaking, the 2009-2014 mediation process in Madagascar experienced multiple challenges and the resultant peace has been described as fragile. Brahimi and Ahmed’s work is applied in this study as an analytical framework to evaluate the mediation process in Madagascar during the period 2009-2014, and thus indicate the explanatory value of the framework itself. The research links challenges faced by the Malagasy mediation to six of the seven original sins in the framework, indicating that the framework has some explanatory value. The research further demonstrates that the identification of the sins in a mediation process forebodes a strong predisposition to ineffective mediation, yet each mediation case may present an additional sin or sins to append to Brahimi and Ahmed’s original list. Through scrutinizing the events of the Malagasy mediation, the study identifies an additional problem; the lack of a clear mandate, to have been catalytic to the mediation’s challenges and ineffectiveness, as well as the fragile resultant peace. Key terms: International mediation, conflict management, Madagascar iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Research Theme .................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 2 1.2.1. Brahimi and Ahmed’s seven deadly sins of mediation ....................................................... 3 1.2.2. International mediation in Africa ........................................................................................ 3 1.2.3. The mediator’s agency ........................................................................................................ 4 1.2.4. Mediation dynamics ............................................................................................................ 5 1.2.5. Mediation strategies ............................................................................................................ 8 1.2.6. The Malagasy crisis and peace process ............................................................................... 9 1.3. Research question ............................................................................................................. 10 1.4. Research design and methodology .................................................................................... 11 1.4.1. Limitation of the study ...................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .......................................................................... 13 2.1. Gauges of effective mediation .......................................................................................... 15 2.2. Brahimi and Ahmed’s constraints to effective mediation ................................................. 16 2.2.1. Ignorance ........................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.2. Arrogance .......................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.3. Partiality ............................................................................................................................ 19 2.2.4. Impotence .......................................................................................................................... 20 2.2.5. Haste.................................................................................................................................. 21 2.2.6. Inflexibility........................................................................................................................ 24 Issue inflexibility............................................................................................................... 24 Procedural inflexibility ..................................................................................................... 24 2.2.7. False promises ................................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 3: THE MALAGASY CRISIS AND MEDIATION TIMELINE ............................. 28 2008 – 2009: Foundations of the conflict ................................................................................... 28 March 2009: Ravalomanana ousted ........................................................................................... 29 March 2009: De-facto reign of the HAT .................................................................................... 29 March 2009: International response ........................................................................................... 30 April 2009: The JMT-M ............................................................................................................. 31 July 2009: The ICG-M ............................................................................................................... 33 December 2009: Disengagement with the mediator .................................................................. 35 December 2010: Re-engagement with the mediator .................................................................. 36 September 2011: The SADC Roadmap ...................................................................................... 37 December 3013/January 2014: Crisis exit elections .................................................................. 38 CHAPTER 4: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS IN MADAGASCAR ............................................ 40 4.1. Rajoelina’s intransigence .................................................................................................. 40 4.1.1. Impartiality ........................................................................................................................ 41 Content bias....................................................................................................................... 41 Source bias ........................................................................................................................ 42 4.1.2. Impotence .......................................................................................................................... 43 Material and financial resources ....................................................................................... 44 Diplomatic resources......................................................................................................... 45 Military resources ............................................................................................................. 46 4.1.3. Arrogance .......................................................................................................................... 47 4.1.4. Ignorance ........................................................................................................................... 49 4.2. Multiple unmet and unenforced