Foreign Policy Blogs

Meeting with Rebels

The question of “meeting rebel leaders” (or rogue states) has been at the front of international diplomacy over the past few years – particularly with the public debate in the United States about Obama's potential meeting with Iranian President Ahmadinejad “without preconditions.” When is it advisable for the diplomatic process to include rebels – or even terrorists? Two days ago, there were news reports about the decision to send Robert Hannigan – the Security Adviser to the British Prime Minister – to meet with the Muslim leaders in southern Philippines (particularly the Moro Islamic Liberation Front). Hannigan draws his experience from the Northern Ireland Office and reaching the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. He says that he is going there to share his experiences and not to negotiate. This might be precisely the right way to approach rebel leaders throughout the world: Listen First, Negotiate Last. The senior adviser said, “I just come to share some of the lessons we learned.” The peace process in the Philippines was officially suspended by the Presdent – Gloria Arroyo.

 

Author

Karin Esposito

Karin Esposito is blogging on religion and politics from her base in Central Asia. Currently, she is the Project Manager for the Tajikistan Dialogue Project in Dushanbe. The Project is run through the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies with the support of PDIV of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The aim of the project is to establish practical mechanisms for co-existence and peaceful conflict resolution between Islamic and secular representatives in Tajikistan. After receiving a Juris Doctorate from Boston University School of Law in 2007, she worked in Tajikistan for the Bureau of Human Rights and later as a Visting Professor of Politics and Law at the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics, and Strategic Research (KIMEP). Ms. Esposito also holds a Master's in Contemporary Iranian Politics (2007) from the School of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iran and a Master's in International Relations (2003) from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (GIIDS) in Switzerland.

Areas of Focus:
Islam; Christianity; Secularism;

Contact