ABSTRACT

Many international crises require multi-level efforts by regional, sub-regional and international actors since they often pose cross-border risks to peace and security. Efforts made by multiple actors increasingly need to be coordinated. Consequently, international actors have created informal ad hoc institutions between each other. One frequently used but largely underexplored type of multi-actor coordination mechanism is the international contact group (ICG). Since 1977, as many as 27 ICGs were formed to find common positions and coordinate international engagement in crises. Based on scholarship of multi-actor mediation, inter-organisational relations and informal governance, this article explores the functions of ICGs in international conflict management. It examines the universe of cases, maps their participants, founders, purposes and variations and finds two trends: enlargement and regionalisation. The article then analyses the International Contact Group on the Central African Republic (ICG-CAR) as a typical case to study the specific functions of ICGs in international conflict management.

摘要

许多国际危机需要区域，次区域和国际行为者多方面的努力，因为它们经常对和平与安全构成跨界风险。越来越多的参与者的努力需要进行协调。因此，国际行为者之间建立了非正式的临时机构。国际联系小组（ICG）是一种经常使用但尚未充分开发的多角色协调机制。自1977年以来，成立了多达27个ICG，以找到共同立场并协调国际参与危机。基于多方调解，组织间关系和非正式治理的奖学金，本文探讨了ICG在国际冲突管理中的功能。它检查案例的范围，绘制参与者，创建者，目的和变化，并发现两个趋势：扩大和区域化。然后，文章分析了中非共和国国际联络小组（ICG-CAR）作为典型案例，研究了ICG在国际冲突管理中的具体功能。