After many years in the little-known world of back-channel mediation, helping sworn adversaries to prevent, manage or resolve conflict, Pierre Hazan felt compelled to re-examine the acute practical and ethical dilemmas that affected his work in Bosnia, Ukraine, the Sahel and the Central African Republic. What is the mediator’s responsibility when two belligerents conclude a peace agreement to the detriment of a third? Should mediators never be party to ‘ethnic cleansing’, even if it saves lives? Is a fragile peace worth sacrificing justice for—or will that sacrifice fuel another cycle of violence?

In an increasingly dystopian world, Negotiating with the Devil offers both practical guidelines and a moral compass for mediators whose field of action has transformed dramatically. We have gone from soft to hard power; from ‘peace dividends’ to war in Europe; from the end of one Cold War to a new East–West confrontation in Ukraine; from Pax Americana to a multipolar world; from the dream of an all-powerful UN to the organisation’s marginalisation. Against this tapestry, Hazan sheds light on the complex work of those steering peace negotiations, blending vivid first-hand observation with sharp insights into the psychology of compromise as a first step towards peace.

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‘Analyses with finesse what this quest for dialogue means in an increasingly chaotic world where the West is no longer hegemonic.’

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‘Revisits the last thirty years in the theatre of mass crimes from Bosnia to the Sahel, from Ukraine to Afghanistan.’

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‘‘Lifts the veil on the dilemmas and pitfalls of mediation in armed conflicts.’

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‘An enlightening and stimulating book on mediation in armed conflicts.’

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‘Former journalist, and now advisor to the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva, Pierre Hazan has written Negotiating with the Devil. In this stimulating opus, the author examines mediation in times of war.’

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‘An engrossing look at the moral dilemmas and shifting political imperatives in conflict mediation. With his usual uncompromising honesty, and drawing on his rich personal experience as a mediator, Hazan eschews easy answers and bright lines in considering when to talk with the most evil forces, and when compromise and neutrality can become complicity.’