Knowledge production on mediation: practice-oriented, but not practice-relevant?

Abstract International mediation has become a standard response to armed conflicts, reflected in an expanding research agenda on the topic. This article examines alleged disconnect between practice and mediation. It analyses articles published highly ranked academic journals provides insights who produces knowledge mediation, how such is produced what produced. shows that western male scholars produce majority of scholarly mediation; positivist approaches dominate these most publications theorize about reasons for success. Through this analysis, demonstrates while high-impact practice-oriented contributions examine make it more effective, its practice-relevance could be strengthened three ways: by increasing diversity perspectives, adding interpretive qualitative producing critical research. The broader specialized journals, books policy literature contributes filling gaps. therefore nuances presumed practice. Overall, thorough review production adds discussions potential field peace studies.