STEP ONE
Assess the Environment for Friends
Just as the first step in any mediation effort is to assess the conflict, so, in thinking about groups of Friends, the first step must be to assess the environment for Friends within the broader exercise of conflict analysis. This will involve critical reflection upon a mediator's own strengths and weaknesses as well as considered attention to the potential Friends, external actors from which the mediator may seek support in his or her interactions with the conflict parties.
Consider the Mediation's Strengths and Weaknesses
Track-I mediators become involved with a conflict on the basis of different levels of visibility, legitimacy, and authority. They bring with them varying capacities for engaging with conflict parties, as well as quite distinct relations with other external actors with an interest in, or influence over, a given conflict. The nature and provenance of the mediator will therefore have a direct effect on whether a group of Friends is desirable and, if so, how it should be formed.
Different Mediators
Recent years have seen both a dramatic growth in mediation and an unprec- edented diversity of mediators. This reflects two distinct shifts. One is a move away from mediations that are led exclusively by the United Nations and great powers and a move toward an increase in responsibility on the part of regional organizations and states. The other shift is a growth in the involvement of inde- pendent international mediators (such as the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the Community of Sant'Egidio) and prestigious individuals. These individu- als sometimes run their own organizations (former president of Finland Martti Ahtisaari heads the Conflict Management Initiative; former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, the Carter Center; and former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, his own foundation).
Different mediators-the United Nations, regional and subregional organizations, individual states, private peacemakers, and prestigious individuals-will engage with external actors, and can contemplate working with groups of Friends. Each of these mediators will have a distinct perspective.