[1] They engage in processes such as negotiation, mediation, conciliation, and arbitration—drawing on international law and norms.
The objective is to move a violent conflict into non-violent dialogue, where differences are settled through conflict transformation processes or through the work of representative political institutions.
[1] "High level" (governmental and international) peacemaking, involving direct talks between the leaders of conflicting parties, is sometimes thus referred to as Track 1.
[2] Tracks 2 and 3 are said to involve dialogue at lower levels—often unofficially between groups, parties, and stakeholders to a violent conflict—as well as efforts to avoid violence by addressing its causes and deleterious results.
One such diplomat who negotiated numerous peace settlements across the Middle East during the early 1970s between Israel and its neighbours was Henry Kissinger.