Resolving Armed Conflict: The Acehnese Experience of Mediation

A growing number of armed conflicts are ending in negotiated and mediated settlements. While mediation has been acknowledged as an effective means of dispute resolution in many areas, such as family law, medical law and commercial law, it has only quite recently been employed for the resolution of armed conflicts. It is the aim of this article to analyze how mediation was successfully employed in resolving conflicts in the region of Aceh in Indonesia. After 25 years of armed conflict, a peace deal was signed in 2005 between the government of Indonesia and an armed Acehnese group, the Gerekan Aceh Merdeka(GAM). This article will detail the history of the conflict and the mediation process, focusing on the mediation strategies and characteristics