Written by: Hannah Adamson, Merisa Matttix, and Nicholas Sherwood
At the end of September, USIP convened a meeting to discuss what it means to be an Insider Mediator, how Insiders can be better supported, as well as their challenges and opportunities.
The closed event, entitled "Insider Mediators in Peace Support Processes," brought together many mediators and reconciliation experts from around the world to discuss the critical topic and was led by Dr. Juan Diaz Prinz, USIP's Senior Expert on Mediation and Dialogue. To preface the open group discussion, the group heard from UN Undersecretary General on Genocide Prevention Alice Wairimu Nderitu as Keynote, Joseph Sany presenting on USIP's behalf, and Antti Pentikainen with Natia Channkvetadze on their compiled literature review.
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Under-Secretary-General Alice Wairimu Nderitu spoke on the intersectionality of what it truly means to be an insider in multiple contexts. She specifically discussed the different ways one can be an insider and, in various degrees, giving examples of being an African but not being from the country she was facilitating in or being a woman facilitating a large group of men. In many of these instances, different identities are employed over others. She also encourages insiders and all mediators to know their limits and to ask for support where needed. Under-Secretary-General Nderitu also spoke about the lack of mechanisms for early atrocity response, even with adequate early warning systems. She mentions that insiders should be championed in these early prevention systems and should be encouraged to use community-based plans. Overall, a better understanding of what an Insider Mediator is and the different dynamics in their role based on their different identities would better address peacebuilders' needs and inform conflict-preventative action.
Joseph Sany then spoke about USIP's experience with Insider Mediators and what the organization has observed as well as himself. He cites managing positionality, identity, and sustainable identity. Mr. Sany explains that these different aspects should be explored in the multitudes of conflicts addressed by the organization today, including civil wars, interstate conflicts, and political conflicts. He and USIP believe increasingly complex conflicts call for creative peacebuilding paradigms to re-imagine our existing tools and use this lens when discussing Insider Mediators.
To analyze current conceptions of Insider Mediators, Antti Pentikainen, Director of the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation, introduced Natia Chankvetadze, a Ph.D. Candidate at the Carter School. Together, Natia and Antti have been working on a literature review on Insider Mediators. Natia shared their findings in the limited research conducted on insiders to date. First, the trends describe this role homogeneously but have many different definitions of what it means to be an Insider. Through the literature, Antti and Natia see Insiders like layers and that one can have a different depth of "insiderness" in specific situations. Many factors play a part in this role, including unique positionality, agency, and inclusivity.
To finish their presentation and further research and discussion, Antti presented the group with a few questions:
What do Insider Mediators need? From USIP, supporting organizations, governments?
How can USIP and other organizations improve support for Insider Mediators?
What are possible recommendations for USIP?
Dr. Carl Stauffer, USIP's Senior Expert on Reconciliation, then discussed insiders' need for new and better support methods. Requesting that Insiders on the call share their experiences, he asked several questions about supporting Insider Mediators and creating avenues to make their work more sustainable. These included:
What does the sustainability of Insider Mediating mean?
What are some models of support that are working or not working?
How is the "local" dynamic entering/engaging with the discussion of Insider Mediators and within different conflicts?
The group had an excellent and informative exchange. Many stressed the dynamics of identities within the work and the aspects of identity within power dynamics (ex., gender, title). Intersectionality of identity was also mentioned, with the stress of balancing one's role in specific situations and how it may be different in other cases. Others offered suggestions for further support, including better financial support mechanisms for Insiders and more peer-learning opportunities between insiders to share best practices. Many also brought up the need for process-defining efforts to encourage stakeholders and funders who may become dissuaded from supporting unclear process designs and goals.
Using a poll, we discovered that almost half of the room identified as an insider, but many were also unsure of their status, while the entire room believed that they support insiders as part of their peace work. Much of the discourse revolved around being an "insider," being dynamic rather than static and operating at different depths.
Over the course of the discussion, there were several questions asked that may be helpful to keep pondering on as those working to better support Insider Mediators:
How do we creatively help insiders to be responsive and relevant to the changing dynamics of conflicts?
How do we work with Insiders in negotiating their identity while working in varying environments?
What obstacles prevent supporting Insiders? What can USIP do to overcome these?
What is the difference between a peacebuilder in a country and an insider? How do places like USIP choose which insiders to work with?
Can this support be a collective mechanism, or does it need to be situation-specific?
How can Insiders be better physically, financially, mentally, and emotionally protected in the field?