Crossposting from Craig Zelizer's P&CDN:

The U.S. Institute of Peace introduces The Peacemaker's Toolkit, a new series of handbooks for practitioners and educators about the art of mediation available online for free! Each handbook focuses on a particular facet of the mediator's trade, distilling practical guidance from a wealth of experience and expertise. Slim enough to fit into a pocket but packed with ideas, options and examples, the handbooks lay out the key steps to success. Five handbooks have now been published, focusing on relevant subjects such as how to manage a mediation process, debrief mediators and manage public information during a mediation process. All are available online and in print -- and all are free.

Current Handbooks Include:

• Managing a Mediation Process
  August 2008view-data-field-publication-date-value""> | Practitioner Tool by David R. Smock
  and Amy L. Smith Managing a Mediaiton Process is
  the first handbook of the Peacemaker’s Toolkit series. This handbook
  provides a methodology for mediating interstate and intrastate
  conflicts. Each of the six chapters covers a different step in the
  process, identifying what needs to be done at that step and how best to
  accomplish it. By consolidating the practical wisdom of managing a
  mediation process into an easily digestible format, Managing a
  Mediation Process is designed to help mediators identify areas where
  they may need more research or preparation, as well as develop options
  and strategies relevant to the particular case on which they are
  working. | a Mediation Process');"'>Download the handbook (PDF/856 KB) 
  
  • Access the Managing a Mediation Process Web Handbook
    The web version of Managing a Mediation Process
    allows readers not only to view and search the full text of the
    handbook but also to link instantly to more detailed resources, 
    including analyses, educational materials, tools, and news.

• Managing Public Information in a Mediation Process
  February
  2009 | Practitioner
  Tool by Ingrid A. Lehmann
  The second handbook of the Peacemaker’s Toolkit series, Managing
  Public Information in a Mediation Process helps mediators identify
  and develop the resources and strategies they need to reach these
  audiences. It highlights essential information taks and functions,
  discusses key challenges and opportunities, and provides expert guidance
  on effective approaches. Examples from past mediations illustrate how
  various strategies have played out in practice. 
  Download
  the Handbook (PDF/1.31 MB)

• Integrating Internal Displacement in Peace Processes and Agreements Displacement Handbook cover. (Image: U.S. Institute of Peace)" vspace="5" width="87" align="right" border="1" height="132" hspace="5"">
  April
  2010 | Practitioner
  Tool by Gerard McHugh
  Leading experts on mediation and the plight of internally displaced
  persons (IDPs) collaborated to produce this handbook, which gives
  mediators the tools they need to incorporate IDPs' concerns into peace
  processes and agreements. Achieving such integration will not only
  safeguard the rights and interests of IDPs as stakeholders in a peace
  process but will also help mediators reach a negotiated and lasting
  settlement for all the parties involved in a conflict.
  Download
  the Handbook (PDF/2.03 MB)
   
  

   

• Debreifing Mediators to Learn from Their Experiences
  April
  2010 | Practitioner
  Tool by Simon J. A. Mason and Matthias Siegfried
  This handbook examines interviews conducted with mediators to learn
  lessons about their mediation “method.” These methodological debriefings
  are typically conducted by individuals who have not been directly
  involved in the mediator’s work but who want to learn the mediator’s
  perspective on what was done and why it was done. This handbook enhances
  the practice of mediation by showing how lessons from individual
  mediators can be identified and made available both to their
  organizations and to a wider practitioner audience. It also gives
  guidance to staff debriefing  mediators who are or have been directly
  involved in peace negotiations. | Download
  the Handbook (PDF/1.54 MB)
   
• Timing Mediation Initiatives Mediation Handbook cover. (Image: U.S. Institute of Peace)" vspace="5" width="87" align="right" border="1" height="132" hspace="5"">
  April
  2010 | Practitioner Tool
  by I. William Zartman and Alvaro de Soto
  

  A mediation initiative cannot be launched at just any time if it is to succeed. The conflict must be ripe for the initiation of negotiation. Parties resolve their  conflict only when forced to do so-when each
  party’s efforts to achieve a unilaterally satisfactory result are
  blocked and the parties feel trapped in an  uncomfortable and costly
  predicament. This toolkit lays out five steps mediators can take to
  assess whether a stalemate exists; interpret the parties’ perception of
  where they stand in the conflict; and encourage a ripe moment for
  mediation. | Download
  the Handbook (PDF/1.28 MB)

http://www.usip.org/resources/peacemaker-s-toolkit

The series is being designed for experienced mediation practitioners and negotiators, but will be a valuable resource for students and policymakers. Future handbooks include: Negotiating with Terrorists,
Dealing with the Impact of an International Tribunal on a Peace
Process; and Coordinating Track I and II Efforts.

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