The Fog of Peace

The Human Face of Conflict Resolution

Gabrielle Rifkind, Giandomenico Picco

• Publisher: I.B. Tauris
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781780768977
• eBook ISBN: 9780857734662
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Psychology

Institutions do not decide whom to destroy or to kill, whether to make peace or war; those decisions are the responsibility of individuals.This book argues that the most important aspect of conflict resolution is for antagonists to understand their opponents, their ambitions, their pains. Gabrielle Rifkind and Giandomenico Pico present two very different experiences of international relations – Rifkind as a psychotherapist now immersed in the politics of the Middle East, and Picco as a career diplomat with a successful record as a negotiator at the UN. Developing links between psychology and politics, the authors ask: should we talk to the enemy?
What happens if the protagonists are nasty and brutish, tempting policy-makers to retaliate? How do nations find
the capacity not to hit back, trapping themselves in endless cycles of violence? Presenting a unique combination of psychological theories, geopolitical realities and first-hand peace-making experience, this book sheds new light on some of the worst conflicts in the modern world and demonstrates,
above all, how empathy can often be far more persuasive than the most fearsome weapons.

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Gabrielle Rifkind is the Director of the Middle East programme at Oxford Research Group. She is a group analyst and specialist in conflict resolution immersed in the politics of the Middle East. Rifkind combines in-depth political and psychological expertise with many years’ experience in promoting serious analysis and discreet dialogues with groups behind the scenes.

Giandomenico Picco worked for the UN for over 20 years and served as a UN negotiator on conflicts, focusing on Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was personally involved in securing the freedom of a number of individuals illegally detained in four different countries. As a UN undersecretary he led the initiative referred to as the Dialogue Among Civilizations.

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‘It is the combination of genuine intellectual vigour, risky getting-hands-dirty practical involvement and a passionate, persistent commitment to human values that is so welcome in this book. Many people bring two of these strands, but only the three-stranded rope represented here is strong enough to haul us up to a new vantage point above “the Fog”.’

John (Lord) Alderdice, FRCPsych, Convenor of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party in the House of Lords, and Senior Research Fellow, Harris Manchester College, Oxford

‘It is rare that such a thoughtful book about the great issues of war and peace is written so engagingly. The style is personal and full of fascinating anecdote, but the underlying argument is profound and timeless: why do we continue to kill each other and how can we be brought to stop? In offering an answer, this book is a fine combination of the practical and the theoretical. It examines the issues of identity and notes the essential role of the individual in peacemaking – a subject on which the authors are exceptionally well qualified to comment.’

Richard Barrett, former Head of Counter-terrorism at MI6, and Coordinator of the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team

‘The Fog of Peace is a thrilling and stimulating read for all interested in the resolution of conflicts of international relevance. It is a rare effort to put the spotlight on the negotiators and on the need for more psychological insight.’

Hans Blix, former Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Head of UN Iraq inspections 2002–2003

‘The Fog of Peace is an important book, not just for negotiators but for all of us. It explains why so many efforts to resolve regional or local conflict end in failure; it illuminates the path to a much more thoughtful handling of hatred and hostility: bring the enemy in from the cold. This is a refreshing and readable account of the psychology of reconciliation, which political leaders would do well to absorb.’

Jeremy Greenstock, former UK Ambassador to the UN

‘Fascinating and so clear – this is a book that politicians of all nations, their advisers and every member of the United Nations Secretariat should read.’

Guy Hibbert, award-winning screenwriter

‘Fascinating, revelatory and insightful, The Fog of Peace is a remarkable book … it captures the human emotions that underlay all conflicts and powerfully displays that the solutions to war lie in truly understanding “the other” and unpicking the enmities that run so dee‌p.’

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC

‘Attention politicians, diplomats, negotiators, academics and anyone interested in resolving conflicts: read this book. Picco and Rifkind have assembled a body of evidence, in large part drawn from vast personal experiences – in the Middle East, Asia, and elsewhere – that emphasizes the critical importance of understanding the human factor in conflict situations. Learning from these two professionals will be instrumental in approaching every conflict we face.’

Dan Kurtzer, former United States Ambassador to Egypt and Israel, and Professor of Middle East Policy Studies at Princeton University

‘I found the substance of the book brilliant and that the two authors, Gianni Picco and Gabrielle Rifkind, have such a consistent shared view is impressive. The substance of that view – how peacemakers need to set about their task – is an important message for all of us.’

Brian Lapping, Chairman and Executive Producer at Brook Lapping

‘This book should be essential reading for everyone, but especially for those in government. This remarkable and refreshing book offers an extremely practical new approach to finding a path through the fogs of war and peace. The authors argue that using the tool of empathy and getting into the mind of the enemy is not appeasement. This book is anything but soft and cuddly; it is based on a deep understanding of realpolitik in its most brutal forms.’

John McCarthy, writer and broadcaster, and a former hostage in Beirut

‘The authors – distinguished one in diplomacy and the other in psychotherapy – team up well to inform us of the foibles, failures and most of all what makes for success in peacemaking. For even the most expert, this book will open new insights into a process neither well understood nor sufficiently successfully practised. Up-to-date, with fascinating personal vignettes and a deep understanding of the human and political condition, it is a choice read for all interested in learning how to improve the search for peace around the globe.’

Thomas R. Pickering, former US Undersecretary of State and US Ambassador to Russia, India, the UN, Israel and Jordan

‘An important and stimulating book … full of engaging and fascinating insights into the art of diplomacy and the critical importance of empathy in successful negotiations.’

Bruce Riedel, former CIA Analyst and counter-terrorism expert

‘Stimulating, thought-provoking, original and very persuasive. The book is an excellent opportunity to present, to a wide and anxious public, a comprehensive analysis of the deficiencies in current efforts to resolve international crises and a powerful case for a mature and sophisticated approach to conflict resolution. It deserves to reach a wide audience and have a powerful impact.’

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Foreign Secretary 1995–1997

‘In The Fog of ‌Peace, Giandomenico Picco, an international diplomat of rare ability and quiet accomplishments, and Gabrielle Rifkind, a specialist of conflict resolution, draw upon their professional and personal experiences to provide intriguing views on dealing with difficult foreign-policy challenges. Having benefited over the years from Mr Picco’s insights on the Middle East, I am delighted that he and Ms Rifkind are reaching out to a broader audience.’

Gen (Ret) Brent Scowcroft, National Security Advisor to President George H.W. Bush

‘From the fog of war and the tangle of international diplomacy to the fog of the human mind and the tangle of the soul – two contrasting approaches to conflict resolution come together intriguingly. This is their remarkable account.’

Jon Snow, newscaster for Channel 4 News

Published in 2014 by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
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Distributed in the United States and Canada
Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
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Copyright © 2014 Gabrielle Rifkind and Giandomenico Picco

The right of Gabrielle Rifkind and Giandomenico Picco to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by the authors in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978 1 78076 897 7
eISBN: 978 0 85773 466 2

A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available

eBook by Tetragon, London

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To my younger son, Liam, who dreams about the freedom of wild horses.

—GP

To my partner for life, Jonathan Levy.

—GR

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Contents

• Preface
• Introduction
• Part I • Practice, Not Theory
• 1. A So-Called Diplomat’s Story by Gianni Picco

• A personal story
• Life lessons applied: freeing hostages in Lebanon
• Finding the Iranian national narrative: the need for historical justice
• The narrative of the Hezbollah hostage-takers
• Negotiating the end of the Iran–Iraq War
• The Afghan–Soviet War
• Institutions empowering individuals

• 2. The Therapist’s Story by Gabrielle Rifkind

• A personal story
• A practical catalyst
• Focusing on the Middle East
• A long-term ceasefire: a period without violence
• Understanding human motivation

• Part II • The Psychology of Conflict
• 3 . No Politics without Psychology

• How psychology shapes politics
• Collective memory and how we shape narrative
• The cultural mind
• Empathy
• Incentivizing people to change
• Are we changing for the better?
• Why change is so difficult

• 4. Israel: From Trauma to Where?

• Does there have to be a crisis to change?
• A military mindset
• The link between trauma and mistrust in politics

• 5. The Taliban Mind

• The Taliban: who were they?
• Looking beyond the headlines
• Sacred values: do the...

Table of contents

• Preface
• Introduction