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Kapitel 1: Einleitung -- Kapitel 2: Analyse der Interaktion zwischen lokalen und internationalen Akteuren der Friedensförderung -- Kapitel 3: Den Krieg wahrnehmen -- Kapitel 4: Sich gegenseitig wahrnehmen -- Kapitel 5: Den Frieden wahrnehmen -- Kapitel 6: Schlussfolgerung. .

Failures to bring internationalised civil wars, such as in Syria, Libya, or Yemen, to a negotiated agreement have led to a questioning of the UN's role in peacemaking. The literature explains such mediation outcomes by examining micro-level aspects pertaining to either the mediation process or the conflict context. While both are important, they are influenced by macro-level dynamics related to world politics that have received less attention. Yet, such an awareness of the structural context in which mediation takes place is particularly relevant in times of tectonic shifts in world politics, such as the current change in world order from unipolarity to multipolarity. This article fills this gap by exploring the mechanisms through which macro- and micro-level factors interact in mediation, illustrated by the case of the UN mediation in Syria. The article thereby makes two contributions. First, it provides an analysis of the link between world politics and UN mediation by complementing micro-level explanations with a macro-level perspective. Second, it allows for a better understanding of UN mediation in internationalised civil wars, and particularly in Syria. Overall, the article contributes to reflections on how the UN can keep its relevance in peacemaking in a shifting world order.

Peace research has taken a local turn. Yet, conceptual ambiguities, risks of romanticization, and critiques of co-option of the "local" point to the need to look for novel ways to think about the interactions of actors ranging from the global to the local level. Gearoid Millar proposes a trans-scalar approach to peace based on a "consistency of purpose" and a "parity of esteem" for actors across scales. This article analyzes the concept of trans-scalarity in the peace process in Ituri, a province in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Drawing on qualitative data from more than a year of research in the DRC, I argue that while a trans-scalar approach was taken to end violence, it was not applied to transitional justice initiatives. The result was a negative, rather than a positive peace. By showing the high, but still untapped, potential of trans-scalarity, the article makes three contributions. First, it advances the debate on the local turn by adding empirical insights on trans-scalarity and further developing the concept's theoretical foundations. Second, it provides novel empirical insights on the transitional justice process in the DRC. Third, it links scholarship on peacebuilding and transitional justice, which have often remained disconnected.

Peace research has taken a local turn. Yet, conceptual ambiguities, risks of romanticization, and critiques of co-option of the "local" point to the need to look for novel ways to think about the interactions of actors ranging from the global to the local level. Gearoid Millar proposes a trans-scalar approach to peace based on a "consistency of purpose" and a "parity of esteem" for actors across scales. This article analyzes the concept of trans-scalarity in the peace process in Ituri, a province in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Drawing on qualitative data from more than a year of research in the DRC, I argue that while a trans-scalar approach was taken to end violence, it was not applied to transitional justice initiatives. The result was a negative, rather than a positive peace. By showing the high, but still untapped, potential of trans-scalarity, the article makes three contributions. First, it advances the debate on the local turn by adding empirical insights on trans-scalarity and further developing the concept's theoretical foundations. Second, it provides novel empirical insights on the transitional justice process in the DRC. Third, it links scholarship on peacebuilding and transitional justice, which have often remained disconnected.

Abstract
This article analyzes how the internationalization of civil wars influences conflict parties' consent to UN mediation processes. Illustrated by the UN mediation in Syria, I argue that internationalization influences consent directly by obstructing the advent of a costly stalemate and the parties' perception of mediation as a 'way out,' and indirectly by reducing mediators' leverage and perceived impartiality thereby limiting their tools to foster consent. The article makes three contributions. First, it presents a novel conceptual framework to understand the impact of internationalization on conflict parties' consent. Second, it provides a long-term analysis of UN mediation in Syria from 2012–2020. Third, it contributes to a broader discussion about how civil wars end. This is of particular relevance as the prioritization of a political over a military end to civil wars, which was dominant in the early post-Cold War period, is no longer unquestioned.

AbstractThis article presents an analytical model to understand norm change through inter‐subjective meaning‐making. It applies this model to analyze how the United Nations and Syrian civil society actors defined the norm of civil society inclusion in the framework of the Syrian peace process. It shows that norm change happened through two interlinked dynamics: processes in which the actors built congruence between the inclusion norm and other salient norms in their normative environments and processes in which the actors inter‐subjectively constructed the meaning of the inclusion norm. The article's contribution is twofold. First, it adds to the norms literature by presenting a multidirectional model of norm reformulation and providing fine‐grained empirical data on it. Second, it contributes to the mediation literature by shedding light on the meaning of inclusion not just from an international perspective, but also from the viewpoint of domestic civil society actors.

Abstract
This article provides an analytical framework to understand how participation of armed actors in peace negotiations influences local violence. It argues that the link between violence and exclusion or inclusion of armed actors is often indirect and depends on armed actors' underlying motivations to be included and their corresponding strategies. Based on an analysis of the Congolese peace process from 1999 to 2003, the article assesses how the mandate of the peace process influenced armed groups' motivations to be included. It then analyzes the strategies that armed actors used to be included and examines their impact on local violence. Thereby, it allows for a more nuanced understanding of how participation of armed actors in a mediation process influences prospects for peace.